A Step Too Far
by FreezingValentine
Summary: When Yuki collapses outside due to unknown reasons, Hatori is called to check up on him. After his examination he gives a diagnose that doesn't sit quite right with the rat. Amnesia? Yeah right. KyoxYuki
1. Amnesia?

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket or anything related to it.  
Warnings: Future mature content in form of injuries, psychological, sex,coarse language, possibly OOC, YAOI

* * *

-:YUKI'S POV:-

The sun beat down mercilessly and the world warped around me as I stubbornly trudged on. The path lead through a forest, and though I couldn't remember why, I knew I was supposed to go this way. It felt right. I stumbled slightly and nearly fell to my knees but managed to catch my balance just in time and I straightened up and continued on. It was really hot and sweat had formed on my face and neck, dust sticking to it as the wind picked up and blew some of the dry earth from the ground at me.

It was then I realized I had reached a clearing, for the wind couldn't possibly be that strong if I was still shielded from it by the trees surrounding the forest path. My eyes turned up and though my vision was slightly fogged over, I could see a house a bit further down the path. My legs continued to fight their way onward though I was ready to drop dead from exhaustion. Sounds where only a buzz in my ears, if not I would most likely have avoided the cat in front of me. It hissed as I stepped on its tail and as I fell to the hard ground it was already disappearing into the distance, the only thing registering in my tired mind being a white blur.

I lay where I had fallen, finding that I didn't have enough energy to move my limbs as they seemed to have been glued to the ground or filled with lead. Dust got into my eyes, nose and mouth and as I sneezed I got more of it down my throat. I coughed viciously but only had enough energy to flip myself onto my back. I squinted as the bright light of the sun got into my eyes more fully now and felt my eyes spill over, streaks of wetness drawing wet tracks down my face. It was starting to grow dark at the edges of my vision and I closed my eyes against it, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by the exhaustion that plagued me. Thoughts I might have had where smothered and I felt my consciousness slip away from me. It was too heavy…

* * *

"- but what happened to him?" Agitated voices slowly brought me back to awareness and I found that I lay down, not on the ground, but on something soft. Something dragged across my chest faintly and I felt a shiver rack my body. I fluttered my eyes open in reaction to it. The world swam and I couldn't seem to find anything to focus on.

"-uki?" The urgency of the voice was the first to reach through to me and I tried to turn towards it but still couldn't see anything but a blurry figure, suddenly all too close to me. I would have shied away had not the figure moved back to look behind. Now that he wasn't in my face I could finally bring about enough focus to see the man closest to me. He wore a green yukata and his hair was short and black. _Shigure_, my mind supplied helpfully.

"Yuki?" The voice was more persistent now and I focused on the other person present. Long silvery hair came into view and then I found myself looking into big citrine eyes. Ayame…

"…Nii-san?" The words came out before I had time to think them through and I saw how the man, my brother, blinked in surprise before drawing back and proudly proclaiming:

"Oh! My dear Yuki-kun finally called me nii-san!"

"How are you, Yuki?" Shigure spoke quietly to me, ignoring the happily prancing man behind him. I followed his example, but more due to the fact that I couldn't seem to focus on more than 2 things at the same time than anything else. I thought about his question for quite awhile before I answered apparently, because Shigure was looking more concerned when I finally did.

"I don't know." My honest answer also seemed to surprise him and I furrowed my brow tiredly. Why is he surprised? I thought about it but couldn't come up with a satisfying answer. A cold hand on my forehead brought me back from my thoughts and I looked up at the man. His expression was unreadable to me, though I didn't really try that hard. When the cold hand retreated I found myself missing it greatly. It had felt so cool and nice…

"I think you're running a fever." He told me and I guessed it could be true. I didn't really care though. Caring took too much energy, and I seemed to be lacking immensely on that particular ware.

"Ayame, could you stop jumping around and call Hatori already." The silver haired man stopped mid-movement and looked over at us before he nodded.

"Of course! I'll do anything for my dear little brother!" He proclaimed before he headed out of the room with a quick swirl. The room seemed very quiet when he wasn't there anymore and I found myself fidgeting. In an attempt to distract myself I looked at my surroundings. The room wasn't all too big; it just about fitted a desk, closet and the bed I lay in. Papers and pens amongst other stuff filled the desk and I felt a fleeting recognition flit through my mind. _Mine._

"- sure he'll be here in a moment so you should just rest until then, okay?" I forced my attention back to Shigure who was obviously trying to speak to me. How strange, it was really hard to listen to him. He scoffed when I told him that.

"That's most likely the fevers doing. Nothing I say is boring after all!" He smiled widely before he ruffled my hair and while still holding his hand there locked eyes with me.

"Just go to sleep. I'll wake you when Hatori arrives." He rose and started to walk away before I had time to process all he'd said. Hatori. The name didn't mean anything to me. I furrowed my brows. Why was he coming? More importantly, who was he? Though I really wanted to know I couldn't exactly do so without asking anyone, and getting up from my comfy little nest of pillows and comforter wasn't the least appealing at the moment. Instead I decided to do what Shigeru had told me. I snuggled down deeper, shifting under the thin comforter and vaguely recording that I was mostly naked under it by the cool feel of it sliding against my overheated skin. It didn't take long before even that feeling was lost on me.

* * *

While it had been easy to fall asleep, it wasn't as easy to wake up again. I felt someone shaking me carefully but insistently and I also heard my name being called repeatedly but it was like something muffled it. Of course, that proved to be a pillow. I realized this the moment it was torn from my grip holding it over my head. Light blasted onto my closed eyes and I furrowed my brows before I tried to return to sleep. But whoever it was that had woken me, wasn't going to let that happen.

"Wake up, princess!" Someone said and I felt a sudden urge to hit something. The feeling intensified when I felt something looming over me. Without really thinking about it I lashed out aimlessly with my fist. It must have hit something as I felt the impact and heard a clacking sound followed by a groan and whimper.

"No need to get all violent!" I now recognized the voice as Shigure's and opened my eyes. But Shigure wasn't the person I saw when I turned around. I blinked in surprise as I met the serious gaze of a dark haired man clad in a suit. I felt goose bumps appear at my neck and down my back and arms as our gazes locked. Who was this?

"Yuki, you need to roll over or Hatori won't be able to examine you, you know." I snapped my attention away from the intimidating man and looked over at Shigure. He was rubbing his cheek absentmindedly and I caught sight of bruising beneath his hand. Ah. So I managed to hit him. Then I registered what he'd said. Hatori. This man was Hatori. I looked at the man again and found him just as intimidating as before and unconsciously moved the cloth tighter around me. Hatori didn't move but Shigure moved closer with a frown.

"Yuki, turn over so Hatori can examine you." He said it slowly and carefully and I obeyed after a moment, rolling unto my back and letting go of my vice grip on the comforter. I eyed the man known as Hatori warily as he reached into a bag and brought up a stethoscope. He moved down the comforter and I awkwardly looked away as he put the cold metal to my bare chest. He went on to instruct me to do certain things like taking deep breaths or holding a breath in and I obeyed, if slightly unwillingly. He also examined my head, checking my temperature and looking at my eyes. Seemingly satisfied he put his tools away and when he pulled back I kept my eyes on the wall, uncomfortable with the situation.

"So, how is he?" I heard Shigure ask and Hatori sighed.

"He's fine as far as I see. His breathing sounds fine and his pulse is normal. No sign of any head trauma." Hatori answered and I listened carefully to their conversation while pretending not to.

"Well that's good to know. He most likely just pushed himself too hard then." Shigure said cheerfully but didn't seem quite satisfied with the answer.

"Perhaps. I'll check up on him tomorrow again and see if there's something wrong. Keep him home from school and make sure he takes it easy just in case." Then I heard how they left the room. I turned my gaze to the door briefly but once I'd confirmed it was closed and I was alone I sighed and rolled over onto my side, facing the wall. I wrapped the comforter around myself again as a shiver racked my body. I was confused but refused to think about anything. I closed my eyes and shouldered myself deeper into the bed and eventually drifted off again.

* * *

When next I woke, it must have been around noon the next day, I felt someone sitting beside my bed. I opened my eyes slowly and once the world came into focus, turned around. A girl with brown hair and childish appearance sat looking at me and when I turned to her, her eyes widened.

"Oh! I'm sorry Yuki-kun! I didn't mean to wake you!" She exclaimed and desperately tried to assure me it hadn't been her intention. I blinked in surprise and then felt my stomach growl. This sent her into another fit.

"Oh! You haven't eaten in a while right? I was told you slept so I put some dishes away for you. I'll get them for you instantly! But I need to warm them first. Do you think you can go to the dinner table or should I bring the food up here?" She bombarded me with questions and assumptions and I blinked in confusion. I wasn't certain which question to answer and just blinked owlishly. She seemed to notice my confusion and clasped her hands over her mouth.

"Sorry Yuki-kun! I forgot you're out of it when you wake up! Uhm, I'll warm some food for you and put it on the dinner table downstairs, okay?" She repeated slowly and I nodded in response. She hurried out of the room then and I was left wondering. Who was she? After I sat up I took a moment to think about it but then shook my head. I'd simply have to ask Shigure, it would be rude to ask the girl herself and I couldn't exactly pretend that I knew her either, that was just weird since, I didn't. Though she seemed to be quite familiar with me… That was something to consider. But for now I settled for getting up and putting on some clothes. I detangled myself from the comforter and went over to the closet. I didn't really care what I was dressed in so I took a simple shirt and cargo pants. Once I was dressed I went out the door and headed down the hallway. I had a slightly odd feeling wash through me as I walked. I felt oddly displaced. This isn't my home, is it? It felt like home and I knew my way around though I couldn't really remember the layout of the house, but it still felt oddly like I should have another home.

I dismissed the thought the moment I felt the smell of food from the kitchen. When I walked into the dining room I was met with the sight of an orange haired guy sitting by the table. He looked up when I entered and I met red eyes framed by a ruffled fringe. His expression was disgruntled and when he saw me, his scowl deepened. I didn't know why but it definitely affronted me. I hadn't done anything to this guy, so why the dirty look?

After a moment he looked away and I faintly heard him mumble "Stupid rat."

"Excuse me?" The words fell from my mouth out of reaction and I felt myself glare. The man looked up and for a split second his expression was lit by confusion before it returned to its previously disgruntled state.

"I said: _you stupid rat_." He growled in a taunting way and my eyes narrowed at him. What the heck was this guy's problem? I asked him that and he glared.

"You are a freaking problem." He said and I gaped slightly in affront.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked angrily and he rose.

"Stop playing innocent you stupid rat!" He roared and then suddenly came forward in a rush. My reactions were really slow and before I knew it I found myself on the floor with the orangetop over me, holding me down. The air in my lungs exited with a whoosh as he landed on top of me and I coughed slightly to get it back down, still glaring up at the guy.

"What do you think you're doing?" I gasped out and he looked surprisingly stunned.

"Get off of me!" I added when he didn't move or answer. He just blinked in surprise.

"Why aren't you fighting back?" He said angrily while glaring suspiciously and I snapped at him.

"I'm freaking trying! Now get off of me you brute!" I exclaimed while struggling against his hold. He was holding my arms down using his body weight and I found myself unable to push away. I felt my frustration grow as he simply sat there, holding me down seemingly effortlessly and giving me a suspicious and incredulous look. With a growl I dragged my leg up and smacked my knee up between his legs. He let out a gasp and I managed to worm my way out of his grip while he recovered. He grimaced in pain and glared up at me and I gave him one in return while rubbing at my wrists that ached from the guy's grip.

"Ah!" The loud gasp drew both of our attentions to the girl from before. She stood in the doorway, hands clasped together before her and her face set in worry. Then she hurried to stand between us, her face towards the orangetop.

"Kyo! Yuki-kun is supposed to be resting! Please don't fight!" She told him desperately and though I couldn't see her expression it was obvious she was near frantic.

"I wouldn't have if he hadn't egged me on! It's all that stupid rat's fault!"

"How the hell is this my fault? And stop calling me a stupid rat!" I snapped at him and they both turned to me. Their gazes were incredulous to the point where you might as well think I'd said the sky was green and the grass blue.

"What?" I was definitely running out of patience and when they didn't say anything after another minute I turned on my heel and stomped back to my room. I slammed the door after me and threw myself down on the bed. The orangetop's, -what was his name now again?- insults still burned inside me and I closed my eyes and turned my back against the door.

"I'm not a stupid rat…"

-:KYO'S POV:-

When Yuki came into the room I glanced at him to see what the fuss was about. I'd heard he'd collapsed and they'd had Hatori over yesterday. He looked the same as usual as far as I could see and I felt irritated. Why'd that stupid rat have to worry everyone? It was annoying, but surely he thought it was nice to get some attention. As if he wasn't getting enough of it already. Just looking at him made me angry, but Tohru had told me not to fight him, and Shigure had seconded that on Hatori's behalf. So I restrained myself and simply dropped a low mutter about him. But he snapped at it almost instantly.

"Excuse me?" His voice was incredulous and I turned to him. He looked slightly affronted and I couldn't help but repeat myself.

"I said: _you stupid rat_." And seriously, what he said next truly got on my nerves. He asked me what _my_ problem was!

"You are a freaking problem." I growled at him and saw how dormant anger flared in his eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked me angrily. Did he just seriously ask that? Come on! And what's with that feigned innocence! He knows he made everyone worry, the least he can do is act a little apologetic! Okay, screw what Tohru said, this guy has it coming!

"Stop playing innocent you stupid rat!" I launched myself at him and, to say the least, was surprised when his eyes widened in surprise before I tackled him to the floor. I had expected him to jump to the side or dodge in any other manner, but he hadn't. I heard how he coughed, most likely trying to get air back down his lungs 'cus a tackle like that would surely leave me with my air knocked out.

"What do you think you're doing?" I stared down at him in surprise. He looked ruffled and anger was gleaming in the depths of his violet eyes, but he wasn't really struggling or kicking me of like I thought he would. And why the heck was he asking me what I was doing?

"Get off of me!" I ignored his shout and instead narrowed my eyes at him.

"Why aren't you fighting back?" Was he mocking me? It must be like that! Just because they'd said I couldn't attack him, he let me have a punch so he could humiliate me later, right? But he wouldn't let me land a hit ever… It didn't make sense!

"I'm freaking trying! Now get off of me you brute!" He struggled weakly against the hold I had on his wrist as I loomed over him. That's it? Was he serious? Then my vision nearly blacked out as pain shot through my lower regions. He squirmed out from under me and I collapsed on my side while taking a couple of deep breaths. He'd fucking kicked me! That wasn't anything special, but that was a kick below the belt! Cheating! I looked up at him and met his glare and was just about to accuse him when a loud gasp drew my attention.

Tohru was staring in shock at us, her hands clasped in agitation before she ran over and placed herself between us. It took me a moment to realize how she must see the scene; me on the floor, defeated, with Yuki standing up glowering at me. I was about to protest but she spoke before I had a chance to.

"Kyo! Yuki-kun is supposed to be resting! Please don't fight!" I clacked my teeth together on the words I'd been about to utter and tried to look at anything but her frantic expression. My gaze drifted across to the rat once and I remembered how this had all started and an excuse broke through the seal on my lips.

"I wouldn't have if he hadn't egged me on! It's all that stupid rat's fault!"

"How the hell is this my fault? And stop calling me a stupid rat!" He snapped back in response and both Tohru and I turned to look at him, completely dumbstruck. That sounded very un-Yuki like. It should be more like: 'Stop trying to push the blame on others you stupid cat.'

"What?" He asked but my thoughts were running around in circles so I couldn't find a response. I was just about out of my stupor when I entered a new one as Yuki stomped away. His footsteps could be heard clearly and a while after they faded I could hear a loud slam. Yuki wouldn't slam the door, unless he was trying to slam it into my face.

"Ah!" Tohru's gasp drew me out of my daze and I sat up and turned t see what happened. She was staring into the kitchen and then franticly spoke to herself.

"Yuki-kun didn't get his food! Should I go and bring it to him? But he looked really mad; I'd most likely just inconvenience him… But he needs to eat or he won't get better! He hasn't eaten at all today!" She continued to rant back and forth until her eyes were spinning.

"Hey hey, calm down already. You're not going to get anywhere if you stress yourself like that. Besides, he's the one who was rude so just let him be."

"Oh no, I can't do that! I promised Ayame-san that I would make sure Yuki-kun ate and rested as he should!" I rolled my eyes at it but gave up. I didn't feel like trying to convince her, she just was that way. I rose and actually managed not to wince. Fuck, that kick hurt. I guess I should be glad he didn't kick harder. A grimace crept unto my face at the thought but I disguised it with an annoyed frown. Tohru asked me where I was going when I started to head out the room and I just waved and told her dismissively that I'd be on the roof. I paused outside my room for a minute and couldn't help but gaze down the hall to Yuki's room.

"_Stop calling me a stupid rat!"_ The words echoed in my mind and I frowned. Sure, he'd told me not to call him rat while at school since it would cause a ruckus, but otherwise he didn't seem to care the least. It wasn't like him to lash out like that.

…

And it isn't like me to worry about that attention-hogging rat-boy! Huffing, I went into my room and from there climbed onto the roof. It was a warm afternoon and a slight breeze was blowing, carrying various scents with it. I lay down on my favorite spot and just enjoyed the feel of the sun beating down. It didn't take long before I dozed off into a comfortable afternoon cat-nap.

I woke later from raised voices. I furrowed my brow and tried to ignore it, but the insistent buzzing wouldn't leave me alone. Opening my eyes I looked around. It was nearly dinner time judging by the position of the sun and it had started to cool down outside. Shaking my head and yawning followed by a well needed stretch, I then rose. Feeling slightly more awake I tried to determine where the sounds were coming from. Listening carefully I finally determined that they must be coming from the direction of Yuki's room. I frowned at that and couldn't help but feel slightly curious. What's the big fuss about?

I went closer and seated myself above the rat's room. It wasn't like I was eavesdropping; it was their fault for being so loud! From where I sat I could just about make out their words. Hatori and Shigure both seemed to be there as well as Yuki.

"Yuki, please just listen. This isn't a game, it's very important. What were you doing before you headed home?" Shigure asked seriously. His voice was grave, the playfulness completely gone. It surprised me and I strained to hear the answer as the volume of the discussion had lowered by the time I got there.

"I said I don't know." Yuki answered irritably.

"It was only yesterday." Was the impatient answer to Yuki's statement.

"So what if it was? I can't remember something I can't!" Silence followed the outburst and I held my breath, waiting.

"Yuki, answer me honestly on these questions, okay? What did you do in school last Friday?"

"… I don't know."

"Did you remember to turn in you essay?"

"What essay?"

"Do you remember Kagura visiting last week?"Shigure asked, dismay growing steadily in his voice.

"She did?"

"Yes, she came to visit Kyo."

"The orange haired guy?" The statement was questioning and I froze. Wha-?

"Yes, him, he's your cousin. Yuki, do you know who Tohru is?"

"The girl from before?" Once again, the tone was uncertain, as though he didn't know for sure.

This wasn't making any sense. Why was he playing ignorant? Or maybe he wasn't… He'd been acting weird all day… The questioning continued but I couldn't listen anymore. My thoughts were running rampage inside my head and I avoided the suspicion that has started to form. It would make everything make sense, but I didn't want it to. Better he was lying through his teeth. He better be lying! The sinking feeling in my gut wouldn't go away and I unsteadily rose and headed to my own room where I collapsed on my bed. He'd better not have forgotten. If he had, there'd no meaning anymore…

-: YUKI'S POV:-

Some time after I'd gone back to my room, Shigure entered together with Hatori. I wasn't sure how long it had been but I wasn't as angry anymore. I was still annoyed if I thought about it, of course. They closed the door behind themselves and locked it which made me frown, and then Shigure leaned against the wall while Hatori took my desk chair and seated himself by my bedside. I looked at them quietly for some time, wondering why they both had to be here. Was this about the fight earlier? Or was it something else?

"I heard you got into a fight with Kyo." Okay, so it was the fight. I sat up and moved until I had my back against the wall, looking at them. I waited for them to continue but when they seemed to want some kind of response I confirmed it.

"Yes and no._ I_ didn't get into a fight. _He_ attacked _me_." Shigure raised a brow and smiled while Hatori didn't react the least.

"It tends to be that way."

"He does that a lot?" The question seemed to shock the man against the wall. He stared at me as if I had suddenly grown a second head. Silence grew for a moment.

"My, I didn't know you to be such a joker!" Shigure exclaimed then and laughed heartily. I frowned. I wasn't kidding, I asked a serious question. He'd better have something more important to do here than making fun of me or he was in for a nasty surprise.

"Did you get hurt?" Hatori cut through the other man's laughs with this question and I looked at my wrists. One was starting to get a small bruise where it had rubbed against the floor, but nothing major.

"No, nothing much." I answered honestly and met the black haired mans eyes. He held my gaze for a moment and then nodded.

"That's good. Akito wouldn't like it if you were hurt."

"Akito?" I asked in confusion. The name felt ominous for some reason and the look I was given at my question just furthered my discomfort.

"Yuki, has something happened?" Shigure had moved forward and was now standing beside Hatori, his expression worried and his voice carefully questioning.

"I don't know what you mean." I told him and he furrowed his brows and pursed his lips for a moment.

"If this is just a game, stop it now." He said then and I felt hurt at the accusation. Why would I be playing? I had no reason to! I told him so but he just continued to stare dubiously at me.

"Yuki" He said warningly and I growled in frustration. Why couldn't he understand that I wasn't pretending? And what was I supposed to be pretending either way?

"Why is this a game to you? What is it that I say that gives you that impression?" The questions came out louder than I would have expected, but I meant every word so I didn't care.

"I don't know what it would be if it wasn't. You're acting like you don't know what I'm talking about and it's annoying." Shigure answered and his voice, if not as much as mine, had risen in volume.

"I _don't_ know what you're talking about!" I told him frankly and he scowled.

"Why are you doing this? I don't see the point!"

"I'm not doing anything! _You _are the one saying strange things and expecting me to understand you when I obviously can't!" I snapped and saw how something akin to distress crossed the man's features.

"Do you really not know what I'm talking about?" He finally asked after a tense silence. His voice was full of disbelief, but there was s sliver of dread in it that caught my attention. He truly expected me to know these things?

"I don't." At his crestfallen look of dismay I nearly wished I could take the words back, but I couldn't exactly lie about something like this. Then Shigure squared his shoulders suddenly and when he next spoke it was gravely.

"Yuki, please just listen. This isn't a game, it's very important. What were you doing before you headed home?" I was affronted that he still insisted that I must be playing with him but still answered the question honestly.

"I said I don't know." I saw how Shigure pursed his lips again.

"It was only yesterday." He muttered impatiently, more to himself than anyone else but I snapped at him either way, starting to get fed up with his attitude.

"So what if it was? I can't remember something I can't!" A tense silence followed my outburst and I thought I heard a slight rustle from somewhere above but passed it off as my imagination.

"Yuki, answer me honestly on these questions, okay? What did you do in school last Friday?" He asked me and I decided to ignore the once more insistent accusation that I wasn't being honest.

"… I don't know."

"Did you remember to turn in you essay?"

"What essay?" I asked in confusion but he didn't give me an answer, instead forging ahead with a new one of his own.

"Do you remember Kagura visiting last week?"Shigure asked, dismay growing steadily in his voice.

"She did?" I asked. It was a bit vague, but I remembered the girl.

"Yes, she came to visit Kyo."

"The orange haired guy?" I asked, remembering hearing it referred to him a couple of times. I guessed it was right and I was reassured of it when Shigure next spoke.

"Yes, him, he's your cousin. Yuki, do you know who Tohru is?" Was that overly-violent orangetop my cousin? Oh that's just great. I focused on the question he'd asked and made a guess again.

"The girl from before?"

"Yes, her name is Honda Tohru. Do you remember when she came here?" This question seemed to be important and I tried to recall it but found no earlier memories of the brunette than from when she woke me earlier. He wasn't happy with that answer.

"Then what about Kyo? What do you remember about him?"

"…" I frowned at the question. I hadn't met these people as far as I knew. The only ones I'd been meeting regularly were Shigure, Hatsuharu, Momiji and Ayame-nii and… No, I hadn't been meeting them regularly. But they had left the strongest impression in my mind. I couldn't remember ever meeting my cousin before earlier that day.

"Today is the first time I've met him." I finally answered and Shigure looked like he was ready to rip his hair out in frustration.

"Damn it Yuki!" He growled and I frowned. His eyes traveled faintly to Hatori who had stayed silent during the whole exchange and then back to me. Taking a deep breath he asked me another question.

"Yuki, do you remember anything other than me, Hatori and Ayame?"

"Of course I do." I deadpanned. What the heck was with that question? I knew plenty of stuff, just not the things he supposed I did…

"Tell me about a specific moment that you remember clearly." This time it wasn't Shigure speaking, but Hatori and we both jumped a little as the previously quiet man intervened. It took me a moment to recover and when I did, I took some more time to think back. Pictures, sounds and other parts of different memories flashed through my mind before it stopped on a particular one. I decided on that one and looked briefly at the two men who were gazing expectantly at me.

"I… I was sad for some reason, I don't quite know why, only that someone had said something really bad. I was just sad… Hatsuharu came and sat with me, not saying anything, just being there." I said slowly and paused at several points. It was a short summary of it; I didn't feel like going into details of how he'd grabbed my hand and slowly rubbed his thumb in circles on it in a soothing gesture or how shamelessly I'd cried. It was private.

"I see. How old where you?" He asked as a follow up and I thought back.

"About… 9 years I guess." Shigure glanced at Hatori who returned the look briefly. It felt like something passed between them but I had no way of knowing what.

"Where were you when that happened?" Shigure questioned carefully and I thought about it. I knew where it was, but for some reason I didn't have a name for the place. I only knew it was familiar, if a bit ominous. Like something bad had happened there… I dropped that chain of thoughts in order to answer the question.

"I'm not sure." Now Shigure turned to Hatori.

"Can you come with me for a moment?" He asked the other man who looked up and nodded. They headed out the room, telling me to wait just a moment. I tried my best not to feel left out, but an annoyed huff still escaped my lips. I turned my head and looked out the window. It was starting to turn dark. I still hadn't eaten yet… My stomach wasn't complaining that much though, it seemed pretty content with silently aching, a sullen reminder that it needed nutrition every once in a while. But I remained where I was, silently counting the clocks ticks while I waited.

I had reached 454 when they entered again and I gave them a curious once over. Hatori looked mostly like he'd looked before, but he didn't seem to be the kind of person to show his emotions openly so it didn't surprise me. Shigure's expression was a sight though. His face was scrunched up in a look of worry and poorly hidden dismay. He wouldn't look at me and I felt an unnatural stillness settle over me. Whatever was about to happen, wouldn't be good. The air seemed heavy with forbearance and I found myself swallowing thickly.

"Yuki, this may be confusing and disturbing news to you, and I want you to take it easy. You suffer from memory loss, amnesia. To what extent I can't be certain before we speak longer, but I think it's safe to assume you remember barely anything from the past year at the least. And some names seem to have fallen away as well. I am sorry." Hatori told me carefully, watchful of any reaction I might have. But I didn't really do anything. I have amnesia? What the fuck do they know to assume that? I'm perfectly fine. I sighed eventually and then fixed them with an annoyed look.

"If that's all, can I go and eat now? I'm tired of these games."

"Yuki, this is serious. Please listen to…" Shigure started carefully.

"Why do your words have meaning when mine don't?" I interrupted and he blinked, obviously surprised.

"I didn't mean…" He began but I ignored him and after getting to my feet headed out of the room. I closed the door after me and headed down the hall.

Amnesia? Yeah right.

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A/N: Now go on and read the next chapter! And leave a review while you're at it!


	2. Denial

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket or anything related to it.  
Warnings: Future mature content in form of injuries, psychological, sex,coarse language, possibly OOC, YAOI

* * *

-:YUKI'S POV:-

I walked down the hall and then the stairs. The words from before had been pushed from my mind as I had classified them as ridiculous and I decided that food was what I needed now. When I entered the dinner room I found that the girl, Tohru, was putting dishes on the table. She looked up when I walked in and gave a startled sound before smiling.

"Yuki-kun! Oh, I'm so glad to see you're up! I'm sorry about before, you didn't get to eat after all. But food is ready now. Come; take a seat while I call the others!" She waved me over to the table and I seated myself and waited. A moment later she returned and told me to help myself to the food.

I had started to eat already when Hatori and Shigure came down and though I pretended not to, I noticed their glances my way. Tohru didn't seem to notice though as she happily asked Hatori if he'd stay for dinner. He accepted and she took out more plates for him. As she left the kitchen for the plates, she also unknowingly left me alone in the room with the two of them.

"Yuki…" Shigure started but stopped at my sigh.

"Stop it, alright? Let me eat in peace." He looked like he wanted to say something more but he spent too long hesitating, resulting in Tohru returning to put out the plates before Hatori, efficiently interrupting. The rest of the meal I managed to avoid speaking to any of them. Tohru chattered happily with Shigure, who in turn answered distractedly in a cheerful manner, casting glances at me across the table every once in a while. Hatori just stayed silent and Kyo didn't come down at all. The food was delicious and once I'd filled my stomach, I thanked her and said I'd retreat to my room. I made sure to lock my door as to ensure unwanted guests stayed outside and then pulled off my shirt and pants and replaced them with my pajamas which I had found after looking around a bit earlier.

I stretched a bit and then pulled my chair back to the desk and seated myself. I wasn't certain what I was doing but I started to flit through the papers and books on the desk. I read notes and skimmed through homework's. I found old things I didn't remember when I'd written them and some newer things that were most likely only a couple of weeks old. Eventually I'd been through the top of the desk though. I still didn't feel like sleeping so I opened a drawer and looked through it. At the bottom of the second one I found an old diary. I stared at it for a moment and then put it on the desk while I opened the third drawer and picked up a small box. Inside I found a small key and used it to open the lock on the diary.

I brought the diary back to the bed with me and then flipped it open and started to read. Many of the pages were filled with writings of happy times and I smiled occasionally. It told of my arguments with Haru, school activities, playtime with Momiji, Kisa and Hiro. I remembered all of these things and when I finally put the diary away and went to sleep, it was with a light heart. I remembered all of that, so there was no way I was amnesic. They were just playing a prank. It was alright. _I_ was alright.

"Stupid jerks…" I mumbled before I fell into a dreamless sleep.

I woke late the next day and rubbed my eyes tiredly while yawning. Looking out the window I realized it was well into the morning and that Kyo and Tohru was most likely already at school. A thought struck me suddenly. Though I couldn't recall ever meeting them before, we must go to the same school. I pushed the thought away. I had come to a conclusion just yesterday right? I wasn't amnesic. It was just a coincidence. And it was just stupid to defend myself like this.

I sighed and got out of bed. It was too early in the morning for complicated things. It could wait until I'd cleaned up and I'd gotten something to eat. After that, there was no way to know what would happen. It depended on how breakfast went. I walked over to the closet and took out clean clothes before I headed to the bathroom.

I shrugged out if my pajamas and shivered as the cold air hit my bare skin. I hurried to turn on the shower and when it turned comfortable I entered the small space directly under the spray. Some nearly got into my eyes and I moved back a little so I could rub it away before I returned to soak myself under the rushing water. I turned the water off after a moment and after pushing my hair back from my face, applied shampoo to it. After that I turned on the water again and rinsed my hair, careful not to get any of it into my eyes. Once more the water stopped and I took some conditioner for my hair and then started to rub the lemon smelling soap across every part of my skin save the face. When I was certain I'd covered every nook and crane and that the conditioner had gotten time to work I turned the water on again and rinsed myself completely.

When I exited the shower I felt refreshed and a whole lot more awake than before. I towel dried myself quickly before I pulled on the clean clothes I'd brought. Once dressed decently I headed out and went down the stairs. The house was quiet, in fact so much so that I could hear the birds outside and the creaking of the wood underfoot. No one seemed to be home but I didn't really mind. This just meant that I didn't have to deal with anyone's screaming, fretting, prodding or playing. Or assaulting, can't forget that one.

Once I reached the dinner room I saw a small note with _"To Yuki-kun"__written_ on it and I picked it up.

"_I put some sandwiches in the fridge for you, so don't attempt to cook anything on your own! For lunch I put away some of the __rests__ from yesterday, you just have to reheat it.__ Or you can take another sandwich if you like.__ If you have any clothes you need washed, just put them in the laundry basket and I'll take care of it when I get home. Oh, and if you need anything you can always speak to Shigure! He had to go somewhere, but I'm certain he'll b__e back before we are. I'm sorry __for not being there when you got up, but I had to go to school and Shigure said to let you sleep. Oh, but I have to rush now, Kyo is waiting. Make sure to get some rest!"_ It was signed by Tohru and I smiled fondly at the short note. She even managed to sound frantic when writing.

I put the small paper away and then headed into the kitchen. Opening the fridge I found several kinds of sandwiches, just like she'd said. I took one with cheese and ham before closing it and heading back to the dinner table. I ate in silence.

After completing my breakfast I wandered around aimlessly for some time. I was feeling restless and didn't feel like resting. I wanted to move about, do something productive. The restlessness didn't only come from being healthy and forced to stay home. Shigure would most likely get back soon and I didn't want to meet him. I had spent some time thinking over the conversations I'd had with him and Hatori; who wouldn't? It was strange. I knew they were wrong, but it didn't make sense. Some pieces of the puzzle wouldn't fit in. Even if it was like that, why were they so insistent on saying I had forgotten things? Why wouldn't they listen to reason?

…And why did I expect something else?

I stopped in my tracks and gazed down at the floor on the veranda. I wasn't certain what I was expecting, but I knew I wasn't receiving it. My chest tightened uncomfortably and I clutched at the cloth above my heart, my other hand clenched into a fist at my side. My vision blurred slightly and I glared at the floor beneath me.

I'm not certain how long it took me to relax my muscles and get control over myself again. But by then my neck was hurting from the tension and uncomfortable position, and my head was starting to throb with a headache. I lifted a hand and swiped my fingers over my closed eyelids and then looked down at the appendages. They were dry. I hadn't cried. I don't think what I'd felt was sadness, but I didn't know what else to call it. Disappointment? Distress?

My head throbbed strongly and I pinched the bridge of my nose. It still wasn't the time for complicated thoughts. I turned around and made my way to the living room. I went over to a low cabinet and rummaged around for a moment before I found the package of painkillers for headaches. I took one and then put the rest back and went to get a glass of water to swallow the pill down with. Once I'd drained the glass and the pill was safely set on its journey to relieve me of my pain, I headed back to the living room and flopped down on the couch. Making myself comfortable I put an arm over my eyes and let out a heavy sigh. _I feel weak_…

-:KYO'S POV:-

When I woke up it was early morning. I had skipped dinner the day before, not really feeling up to facing the rat and company at the dinner table. Instead I'd spent the night staring at the wall, making excuses for why I felt like I did. Yes, excuses. Good examples were blaming it on the weather and depression and a whole lot of other things.

The truth was that I hadn't liked the discussion I'd overheard yesterday since it had put my thoughts on a very aggravating train leading down to the root of my worry; what if Yuki wasn't pretending to not know Tohru and me? I growled at the thought and slammed my fist against the mattress, resulting in a muffled thud.

_He can't forget. I need him to remember._ I sat up and pushed the comforter away and then burrowed my head in my hands. Damn it all. I already felt that the day was going to be a crappy one, and it had barely started. Dropping my arms down I flipped my legs over the bed's edge and rose smoothly. I picked up my school uniform and then headed to the bathroom. I took a quick shower, barely spending 5minutes under the spray before I was done. Putting on my clean clothes I went to take a morning walk. Tohru wouldn't be up for another half hour so I needn't hurry.

The sun was up and I smiled at the sight of the early morning light showering the world in its golden light. Birds sang, the wind played in the grass and the trees and it was a pleasant morning in every other way. I had to admit that my earlier statement about the day being doomed to be crappy had been a bit hasty.

After a while I increased my pace until I was jogging slowly. The path I was on was the one I always used to run on when I felt restless in the mornings or when I needed some light workout. It was well used and went through the forest, but I usually took off on a smaller trail that cut through it and followed it until it reached a clearing.

When I reached it I stopped and took a couple of steady breaths before I went over to the small creek going through the grassy ground. I sat down on the ground beside it and worked of my shoes and socks before I slowly tested the water with the tip of my toes. It was cold but as I put more of my foot down I grew used to it. Soon after the first one was down below the surface it was joined by another. They say that cats don't like water, but well, I wasn't exactly a normal cat. I didn't have anything against the liquid as long as it wasn't freezing or scalding, which was both logical and obvious.

I spent a couple of minutes there, simply composing myself, gathering my wits about me and cooling down. Shishou always said that you wouldn't get anywhere if you were going into the fray with a hot head, and I admitted to the wisdom of it. I could never beat Yuki since he was all calm while I got aggravated just seeing his face. It annoyed me that he had mastered not only the physical aspect of the training better, but the mental one as well and much faster than I.

Jealousy simmered in me at the thought but I shook my head and forced it from my mind. If I was going to catch up, I needed to start focusing. But despite my tries to calm myself, once that thought surfaced, it was always followed by the same memory.

"_You have no self-control. Just like a beast." _The words so full of contempt that the rat had told me so long ago made my breath hitch and I closed my eyes, denying them with my whole being. I'll show you control. Taking another few calming breaths I felt the anger fade and the brightness of the day came back to me in full force. And with it came the realization that I didn't know how long I'd been gone.

"Shit." I swore and pulled my feet out of the water. Shaking my feet slightly before I put on my socks followed by my shoes, I was soon on my way back to the house again. When I came back I was slightly out of breath but I hadn't run enough to break a sweat. I decided that I didn't need to take a new shower and thus headed right for the kitchen where I found that Tohru was up and fixing food to put in the fridge for Shigure and Yuki. She greeted me as I walked in and I gave a noncommittal reply, already headed over to the fridge to get some milk. I greedily gulped the white fluid down directly from the package and when the last drop slid down my throat I gave a satisfied sigh. Milk in the morning is truly the best.

"Do you want a sandwich? I think I made a bit too many." Tohru said and as I looked over at her I felt my eye twitch. She had made a freaking mountain of the stuff! I forced a smile and then grabbed two sandwiches from the heap, thanking her before I headed to the dinner table. I munched quietly on the food, listening distractedly at the sounds of Tohru shuffling through the kitchen, wrapping things up and putting things away.

By the time I was finished with my breakfast it was about time to go. I told Tohru that she should prepare to leave and then headed upstairs to get my bag. When I returned I found her franticly running around looking for something. Slightly tired of the stressful running I turned and put on my shoes so I could wait outside. Several minutes later I still waited, but my patience was running low.

"Hey Tohru! If you don't come now I'll leave without you!" I called and heard something akin to a crash before I caught her answer.

"Sorry Kyo! I'm coming right now! Goodbye Shigure-san!" A moment later she came rushing out and I started to walk the path to school, Tohru hurrying to catch up to walk at my side. We arrived at school pretty much in time and took our seats. It wasn't long before I zoned out.

It was around lunchtime when it started to get annoying. Yesterday had been awful with Yuki's whole fan club wondering what had happened to their dear prince. If anything, today was even worse. When I told them he'd be home at least the rest of the week, as I'd heard from Shigure, they instantly wanted to go and greet him to see if he was fine. They had been bugging me every chance they got ever since and now I had had enough. I ran away and hid on the roof and though I could hear the warning bell, I didn't move. I could look at Tohru's notes later since she was being extra serious on taking them for the rat's sake.

A few clouds floated across the sky, occasionally obscuring the sun for a few moments. It was warm but not so much that it was uncomfortable and the wind was just right. With these conditions it was inevitable that I soon drifted off.

Around the second last lesson, Tohru found me and dragged me back to the classroom. I spent the rest of the school day working as I should and when the last class ended I packed my bag and waited for Tohru so we could walk back together again. The weather continued to stay good and we walked in comfortable silence. Tohru seemed to be agreeing with me that words weren't necessary on a day like this as she kept silent instead of chattering like she usually did. Or it could simply be that she was lost in thought.

I let that thought go as we arrived at the house and while Tohru went directly to the kitchen I headed up the stair to my room. I put my school things away and changed out of my school clothes to more comfortable ones consisting of my usual green pants and a black t-shirt. Then I headed down the stairs for the living room.

I stopped in front of the couch and crossed my arms before me in annoyance. Curled up on the couch, fast asleep, was Yuki. His chest rose and fell slowly and while one of his arms hung over the couch's edge, the other was propped under his head as he lay on his side. His mouth was slightly open and I couldn't help but snort at the expression he was making. Oh, if only the rat knew how silly he looked when he slept.

"Kyo, what are you… Ah!" I heard her come up beside me and she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands when she noticed the curled up boy on the couch.

"…I'll have to be quiet." She muttered after a moment and then started to push me out of the room, all the while whispering in a shushing manner at me.

"Don't wake him up and make sure not to start a fight!" She repeated it like a mantra and I rolled my eyes before I assured her I understood. My answer was too loudly spoken for her taste though and I saw how she turned around and gave a quick glance at the still sleeping rat before she shushed me again.

"Shush!"

"Oh come on! It's not like he should be sleeping in the middle of the day anyways!" I complained and she put more force into getting me out of the room. She let out an exasperated command when we reached the doorsill.

"Kyo! Geez, go to your room or something!" I actually froze in pure surprise at that and before I knew it, I stood on the hallway with the door to the living room shut. Tohru had actually sent me to my room.

I shook my head in amazement before I shrugged and trudged up the stairs to my room. I didn't do it because I'd been told, but because I didn't have many other places to go. I flopped down on my bed and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. It was one of those moments where time just seems to slow down since you can't find anything worth doing. Perhaps I should be doing my homework, but to be honest I _really_ didn't feel like it.

I turned over so I lay on my stomach, hugging my pillow and feeling my thoughts drift. There wasn't any real order to my thoughts and if I had tried to voice them I would have ended up at a loss for words. But I still felt that there was some kind of significance to these incoherent thoughts. They were slowly processing the day's information and if I let them I would find my head cleared in a matter of a couple of hours, leaving me open for the meditative state Shishou had tried to teach me.

Unfortunately I was brought back from my musings before I could get that far by a knock on my door.

"What?" I called and door opened to reveal Shigure. He looked at me for a moment and I sat up.

"Could you come for a moment? There's something I want to talk about." The man said seriously and I felt my mouth go dry as a sinking feeling started to form in my gut. Sure, Shigure wasn't always that happy-go-lucky person he painted himself out to be, but there was no way he was kidding when he got into this mode. And this supposed "talk" could basically only be about one thing.

"Uhm, sure." I said distractedly and rose from my bed. I crossed the room and he walked out before me. I closed the door after me and then followed the older man down to the living room where I found Tohru, Hatori and Yuki already seated. Tohru was looking a bit confused and cast continuo's glances at Hatori and Yuki. Yuki himself had an extremely wary expression and though he should have been pretty newly woken he looked alert; truly mysterious.

But that mystery cleared as soon as I glanced at the clock and realized it had been well over 2 hours, verging on 3 since I'd gotten back from school. He must have been woken some time ago then. Shigure had seated himself and now motioned for me to take my place and I reluctantly did so. This would come to be a horrible day after all…

-:SHIGURE'S POV:-

I looked around at the gathered people, taking in their varied expressions. Kyo was the last to take his seat and he looked reluctant and something in his stance made me suspect he had at least an idea what this meeting was about. He didn't try to fight with Yuki, through fists or verbally. In fact, he wasn't looking at any of us, instead staring at the table surface, arms crossed over his chest. Yuki had the same wary expression he'd worn since I told him we were going to have a small household meeting. Or rather, he'd had it since the moment I woke him. Or perhaps it got there when he saw Hatori. It was a bit hard to place the exact time.

Poor Tohru looked confusedly between Yuki and Hatori, both seemingly ignoring each other subtly. The silence stretched slowly and I found myself looking back at what had lead to this meeting in the first place…

_-:Flashback:-_

_At the given moment I was putting my things in order in my office. It had been but moments since Tohru rushed out the door to join Kyo for the trip to school. Yuki was still fast asleep upstairs and I sighed. I looked over at the clock. I had about an hour before I had to leave. I'd asked to speak to Hatori yesterday on the phone and he'd made an appointment today. We would be meeting at a café to ensure that what we talked about would remain private. The main house was out of question as it would be bad if Akito heard anything about this before we knew how to handle the situation, and we couldn't have Yuki interrupt so here was also not going to work. Thus the café. _

_Once there was some resemblance of order in the cluttered room I changed to some more casual clothes consisting of a shirt and black pants. I smoothed my hair back from my face and then headed to the kitchen where I took one of the multiple sandwiches Tohru had prepared. I ate quickly before I headed out. _

_It was already starting to get hot outside and I unbuttoned the first few buttons on the shirt as I strode down the path leading to the city. The café wasn't that far away so it would only take at most 20 minutes to go there by foot. I didn't mind as the weather was nice and I got the chance to walk around. I spent most of my time lazying around at home after all. Someone had to watch those kids or who knew what horrors could befall the house. It was bad enough it was partially destroyed on a nearly daily basis when I actually __**was **__there. _

_I sighed theatrically and saw how a group of women on the other side of the road turned to watch me. I put on a melodramatic expression and heard their exited squeals. 'Ah, music to my ears.'_

_When I arrived at the café, Hatori was already waiting for me. He didn't say anything as he motioned for me to join him at his table. He had chosen one of the more private ones at the back and when I seated myself a waitress came over with coffee. She walked away and I let my eyes stray to her swinging hips for a moment before I turned to the man before me. He gave me a reprimanding glare before he smoothed his facial expression once more. _

"_Ha-san, no need to look like that!" I said jokingly but he just glanced at me for a moment before he focused on his coffee, refusing to take the bait. Spoilsport. _

"_So? What do you think about Yuki?" If Hatori wasn't going to have some idle chatting before, there was no point in delaying the main discussion. The black haired doctor put down his cup and then laced his fingers together on top of the table. _

"_I didn't find any sign of head trauma when I checked him over. Apart from his behavior I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary."_

"_So what could have caused the change? Does he truly not have amnesia?"_

"_No, I am quite certain he does have some degree of it. He didn't know Kyo or Honda-san. But what really bothered me was what he told us about his clearest memory. That can only have been from when he was in the main house, Hatsuharu used to go meet Yuki when he had the chance after all. And the only ones who might have made him sad at that point are his mother and Akito, but he said he didn't quite remember why he was sad." He turned silent again and I waited patiently for a moment to see if he was going to continue. When it was obvious he wouldn't continue without a nudge I casually asked him._

"_So what do you make of it?"_

"_I think it's possible he's repressed his memories rather than losing them. It's possible something happened to make him want to forget either the main house, Kyo or something connected to them. Let's say there was an incident that somehow caused him to fear the Sohmas' or anything connected to them, it could well have driven him to repress not only memories directly connected but also those related to it. That would explain why Kyo as well as Tohru seems to be gone from his memory." I had wondered at the beginning of his speech why he thought Yuki might have forgotten about the Sohmas', but my question was answered before I had time to voice it and I accepted his words as the truth. _

"_But why would he remember you, me, Ayame and Hatsuharu?" I asked, despite my claim of accepting his words, I didn't completely follow the conversation. _

"_I don't think he actually remembers me. His expression when he sees me is one given to a stranger, not a family doctor and relative. But as for you others, I think he only remembers you partially. If his memories of the main house are mostly gone, then he may remember you from the times since he left it and came to live with you. Ayame has been trying to reconnect with Yuki ever since, so that would explain Yuki's calm interaction with him."_

"_Hm, I do see your point. But what could have happened to take Yuki's memories away?" I said thoughtfully, starting to grasp the logic behind the doctor's explanation. Hatori gave a tense sigh. _

"_I don't know. Only Yuki would know and it seems he's not going to tell us anytime soon."_

"_It does seem that way…" I agreed and took a first sip of my coffee. It was bitter and I grimaced. Just like Hatori to order it black. _

"_We will have to take precautions and such now, won't we?" I asked as I put the coffee down with a subtle look of disgust. _

"_Depending on how much memory he's lost, yes. If he's truly forgotten about the main house it's possible that he's forgotten about the curse. And if that is the case, we will have to teach him caution all over again."_

"_For some reason I can't find myself believing he'd accept something like that coming out of the blue. He's skeptical enough when it comes to his condition."_

"_This is not a matter of accepting or not. He's going to learn and that's it." Hatori said matter-of-factly and I hated to admit it, but he was right. I still didn't admit it out loud._

"_My, that sounds so cold." I said instead and though my tone was light and a faint smile graced my features, I couldn't help but feel a bit sad. I didn't want to make Yuki bear those heavy things. It had been one thing when he did so naturally, and a whole other to be the one to force them unto him. _

"_Hey Ha-san… what do you suggest we do? I really don't want Akito to know I've messed up and let Yuki get hurt." I looked over at the doctor and for a moment saw how his expression turned pained…_

"Are you going to make us wait much longer you stupid mongrel?" Kyo's angry voice brought me back and I realized I'd truly been drifting off for some time. Everyone save Hatori was looking at me and I gave a feigned smile.

"My, I only thought it would give more drama to it!" I said happily and saw Kyo's face twist into a snarl. It was so fun to tease the cat. But the seriousness of the situation brought back a somber look to my face and I cleared my throat slightly.

"Jokes aside, I, or rather, Hatori and I decided to gather you all today. We felt like it would be best to get things in the open so we can think of what to do. I'm sorry to say this, but it seems like due to unknown circumstances, Yuki has lost some of his memory." I closed my eyes so that I wouldn't have to see the incredulous glare Yuki sent my way, or the shock on Tohru's face, her eyes most certainly going to swim with tears soon enough.

"Shigure…!" I opened my eyes and met the heated glare of the dark haired boy. Yuki growled the name out and I found myself slightly surprised that his voice could go that low. The surprise was short lived as he narrowed his eyes further.

"Why are you still insisting that?" He asked in a dreadfully low voice and I gave him a levelheaded look.

"I'm not joking, Yuki. Hatori examined you before and came to this conclusion. He's a very capable man and I trust his judgment. And you yourself have given enough proof of it through your behavior."

"I haven't done anything!" He snapped angrily and I scowled at him.

"This is going beyond being stubborn, now you're only being irrational."

"You're the one being irrational! I'm not amnesic! I know myself better than you do for god's sake!"

"Then how come you can't remember Tohru whom you've lived together with the past year? Or Kyo whom you've known ever since you were young?" I was quickly losing my temper and against my better judgment I snapped back at him. A look of doubt flittered across Yuki's face before it was chased away by fury.

"How should I know? I haven't met them before in my entire life! Stop dragging other people into these games of yours!"

"I told you this isn't a game! Stop and listen for a change!" My voice was harsher than I had intended and I instantly felt how the room fell into a shocked silence. Damn, there went the appearance of a calm and collected adult…

Confusion and a sliver of fear entered Yuki expression before he abruptly rose and ran out of the room. None of us made any movement to follow him and I sighed tiredly. Damn, that truly didn't go as well as I would have liked it too.

"I apologize for the way he broke it to you, he could have been a bit less blunt." Hatori said and I glanced at him from where I had buried my head in my hands, elbows on the table. His expression was apologetic and I sighed again in resignation. Just like him to keep his act together.

"N-no, it-it's alright. It must have been hardest for Yuki-kun…" Tohru said, her voice shaking slightly. I looked up at her and saw how she had forced a quivering smile onto her face but wasn't the least tricked by her strong façade. Sighing again I let an apologetic and comforting smile grace my features as I reached across the table and grabbed one of her hands, gently squeezing it.

"I'm sorry you had to see something like this. It must feel awful." I told her in a soft voice and saw how the tears broke loose.

"Will Y-Yuki-kun be alright?" She asked and I glanced at Hatori before I answered.

"It's alright. He'll be fine. After all, we're all going to be there for him, right?" I said and she nodded while trembling slightly, soft hiccups escaping as the tears fell. I heard how someone rose and looked up to see the retreating form of the other teen.

"If that's all, I'm going to my room." He said before he left, leaving the door open. I looked after him for a moment before I once more returned my attention to the crying girl in front of me.

What a hassle…

-:KYO'S POV:-

_He said it. Shigure confirmed it. He's amnesic. He doesn't remember. I'm gone from his memories. It's all gone. _

I wanted to scream in frustration. What had I been fighting all this time for? Hadn't it been for recognition? To be recognized as a full-fledged zodiac, to be a real Sohma family member instead of the 'monster' or disgusting cat. Hadn't it been to prove that I had worth? Wasn't it to prove myself to Akito? To prove myself to _everyone_ and to… to…

Damn you Yuki!

I could barely keep my cool as I sat inside that cramped room, barely registering the words after the confirmation of my fears. Yuki rushed out and I don't know how long after it was, but I followed. I couldn't stand to stay in that room anymore. I felt like I was suffocating, I couldn't get enough air and the pressure in my chest was slowly driving me mad.

"If that's all, I'm going to my room." I said and before leaving. The world around me was a haze and all I could hear where those detestable words and the sound of my heart beat which seemed to be unnaturally high. I vaguely registered that I entered my room and closed the door behind myself before I felt the rush of air against my face. I had opened the window and soon thereafter I was on top of the roof, the sun's rays nearly blinding me in my hazed state of mind.

I sat down and wrapped my arms around myself. Disappointment. Frustration. Anger. Pain. The emotions raged through my system and I bit my lower lip to hold back the sounds that wanted to erupt. I didn't know whether it would be a growl, cry or roar, but I didn't want it. Letting it out would only make it all more real. It would make the pain real.

I have no way of knowing how long it took me to get enough control again to relax my posture and once more become aware of my immediate surroundings. The sun didn't seem to have moved that much, it's possible that what had felt like an eternity to me had only been a matter of minutes.

The wind ruffled my hair and I took several deep breaths before I looked out at the world outside. It felt like the first time. Like something had irrevocably turned the world unto a new path and I was left, shaken and disoriented by the change.

Did Yuki's presence really mean that much to me? The thought brought a halt to any other thoughts. Did _he_ mean that much to me? Was it really that important for me to have him there, taunting me, mercilessly pointing out my faults and bringing me down to earth?

I realized then, that he did. I'd gotten used to his constant superiority. He was my goal, someone I was willing to dedicate my life to surpass. I needed him to teach me how much I still had to learn, how little I actually knew and how much there was out there that I had yet to see. I needed him there to keep on going despite everything going to hell. He wasn't just the despicable person possessed by the rat anymore. He had become a person, an individual.

But now he wasn't there anymore. He'd lost his memories and his behavior had changed. He wasn't _Yuki_ anymore.

"Fuck"

* * *

A/N: I would very much like a review! ^^

And I would also like your opinions on a couple of things if you have the time.

First of all: What do you think about the chapter lengths? Are they okay?

Second: Is it moving too fast? I didn't know what else to put in before the talk revealing Yuki's amnesia to the others in the household, but it felt a bit rushed to me. I had hoped to at least go 2-3 full chapters before it was revealed to them. What do you think?

Third: What do you think about Shigure's pov? I wanted to drag the chapter out a bit and give some insight to things from a different view than Yuki's denial and Kyo's suspicions, amongst other reasons.

Fourth: Any general things you've noticed? Something that is off? Something to improve? Or simply things you've thought of.

Special thanks to:

**DeadRose  
****mousecat  
****A Fair Amount of Strife  
And the anonymous reviewer**


	3. Nightly walk

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket or its characters!  
Warnings: Future mature content in form of injuries, psychological, sex, coarse language, possibly OOC, YAOI

A/N: Spirea* = A small pinkish flower that apparently is native to Japan. I tried to search for any kind of plant that sounded plausible to grow in their garden and this was what I came up with. If it's wrong, well, correct me ;)  
Or ignore it… either way's fine.

* * *

-:KYO'S POV:-

I stayed on the roof for several hours. No one in the house seemed inclined to break the silence that had followed the meeting. Occasionally the sounds from below would reach me where I sat but it just joined the other sounds in the background, never making any big impact on my thoughts in general. I looked on as the scenery before me slowly changed as the sun retreated behind the horizon with a sort of distant fascination. Everything was so normal, yet, it was like I saw it for the first time. I hadn't spent much time watching my surroundings like this before, my mind had always been occupied by other things. It felt like I had fallen into some sort of trance, forcibly distanced from the world to be only a spectator of the changes happening. Unable to voice any complaint, I idly watched, waiting for something to bring me out of my stupor.

In the end, I stayed up there long into the night. It was only when cold and hunger got strong enough to make itself known to me through the haze settled over my mind that I went inside. I dropped down on my bed only to have my focus stolen by the wall in front of me.

When morning came I had yet to get out of this state. I walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen. I walked over to the fridge and took some milk and one of the sandwiches still present, though diminished in numbers, which my mind oddly enough found interesting enough to take note of. The slight sliver of focus I had shifted again as I headed into the dinner room only to find Tohru sitting by the table. She had a dazed expression on her face and when she looked up she looked a bit lost. I was certain I wore the same expression.

She didn't speak to me, yet she still made sure that I knew I was welcome to sit. I seated myself and ate. The silence that enveloped us was a joined one, neither of us knew what to say or do and we were both aware of it. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable; it was more like we found common ground in our confusion.

We stayed that way for quite a while. It was only when Shigure came and stopped right inside that we turned away from our individual thoughts, back to the world around us. We both turned to him and I don't know what he saw but a complicated look marred his features before he promptly left again. When he'd left, I thought I'd return to my silent contemplations, but I found that whatever had been here had been broken. The connection I'd found in the silence was gone. I wanted something to happen. Silence wasn't good enough anymore, it made me want to scream.

I gave Tohru a glance but found that she had returned to her own musings, her hands clasped together in her lap and her head slightly lowered. I got the feeling that it would be appropriate to try and comfort her, but I left. I didn't know what to do and so, rather than putting myself in a difficult position, I retreated.

I had already decided that I wouldn't go to school today, and as I passed Shigure's office I heard him talking on the phone, most likely informing the school about our absence for the day. I continued to my room where I got some clothes fit for outside and then headed out. As soon as I left the grounds surrounding the house I started to increase my pace until I was sprinting madly. The world became a blur around me and I let myself be consumed by the present, ignoring thoughts of the past and future. For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt alive. I felt free.

* * *

When I woke up later that evening I couldn't recall much of what I'd actually spent my day doing. All I could remember was running till my breath came ragged and my heart was beating so wildly I thought it would burst out of my chest at anytime. I'd run and run until my legs couldn't handle it anymore, and still I had only lowered my pace to an even trot. I don't remember stopping nor do I remember what paths I'd followed but by the time I returned to the house I was exhausted and sweat covered my body from head to toe. The sun was still high then and the warmth along with the exertion had left my mouth dry and head pounding. I went and drank some water before taking a quick shower followed by a collapse into my bed. I'm quite certain I was already asleep by the time my head hit the pillow.

And there's no need for a genius to guess that I hurt like hell when I woke. My limbs felt heavy and when I moved them I felt a burning feeling spreading before my leg cramped badly and I groaned, cursing loudly. Once the cramps subsided I lay still for a moment more before I carefully stretched my limbs. I should have stretched before I went to bed. I should also have lain down correctly instead of falling asleep in a heap. My left arm had been caught underneath me and it itched uncomfortably as blood started surging down it again, painfully waking it to awareness once more.

When I was quite certain I wouldn't topple over with a leg cramp, I stood up. For a moment I was struck with disorientation as all the blood seemed to rush to my feet, but I took a breath and steadied myself. When the world stopped simmering at the edges, I went over to the window and looked at the sky.

The sun was down which meant I'd skipped meals again and that I'd been asleep the better part of the afternoon and evening. The gentle breeze brought smells of spirea* and a mix of herbs together with the smell that was simply the essence of late spring or early summer. The heat warming the earth causing the scents to rise, and when the air cooled, it colored the breeze with its fragrance. Very poetic, but true all the same.

Just taking a moment to breathe, I idly let my eyes drift over the shadowed ground outside. If I hadn't still been partially caught inside the remnants of the trance, I would probably never have taken note of the shadow slipping over the darkened ground towards the gate. As it was, my muddled mind caught on to it and as I focused I realized it really was moving and not something my mind fabricated. Narrowing my eyes and silently blessing my good eyesight I managed to make out the figure. It had come to a stop by the gate and then as it took a step out from the shadows it was immediately illuminated by the gentle light of the stars and rising moon. The man's hair gave silvery reflections and for a moment I saw it reflected in dark eyes, dark eyes that I knew were of an extraordinary violet color.

There was no doubt that the slender male was Yuki. But why was he skulking about in the shadows in the middle of the night? As I pondered this question I saw how the rat looked around and then slipped out the gate, his figure slowly disappearing into the dark beyond it. A sudden ominous feeling struck me and my eyes widened. Where was he going in the middle of the night? Several unpleasant images flooded my mind and before I had time to think about it I opened the window wider and jumped out.

Which proved to be not the best of ideas. Where I should have landed gracefully like the cat I was associated with, I instead fell over and did a couple of very ungraceful rolls before I came to a stop face down on the ground. I groaned softly as I pushed myself of the ground and quickly dusted myself off. Luckily, no one _seemed_ to have noticed my fall, but I hurried to get out of sight just in case someone actually sought the source of the very audible thud I'd caused.

Wincing slightly the first few steps I hurried along, soon exiting the gate just as Yuki had but moments before. I scanned the area quickly, trying to catch sight of him or at least deduce which way he'd gone. A flicker at the edge of the forest caught my eye and I quickly if quietly moved closer to it. It really was a shot in the dark, it may as well have been an animal of some kind, but fortunately I didn't mistake myself. I increased my pace and soon enough I was just a couple of meters away from him. Whilst I was jogging lightly he was moving fairly slowly, carefully checking his footing every now and then. He must have noticed me though as he suddenly stopped and turned around. I came to a stop but a few moments after he turned to me and I silently caught my breath and ignored the ache situated in my legs, especially the thighs and ankles where it was as most intense.

"What are you doing here?" Yuki finally asked. He seemed reluctant to speak and I saw in his posture that he didn't really care for the answer as much as finding a way to end the conversation so he could leave. I wasn't going to let him walk away just like that though.

"Making sure you don't do anything stupid. What are _you_ doing here?" I countered and an irritated little frown appeared on his features.

"I don't see how this is any of your business." He answered in an almost accusing voice. It was so cliché that I couldn't help rolling my eyes. Couldn't he at least find something newer to say?

"Hey, that's not how a conversation goes. You asked a question, I answered. Now it's your turn." I told him and saw that he had actually expected me to let the question go. Too bad it wouldn't work that way today. Night. Whatever.

"I never agreed to anything like that." He said testily.

"You didn't have to. It's an unspoken rule." I countered and saw him wrinkle his nose in disgust.

"Why do you care so much?" Yuki was starting to sound exasperated and I stubbornly kept to my tactic.

"Not answering before you answer my question." He huffed at my blunt refusal and silence stretched for a moment between us.

"I'm just on a walk. I want to be alone." He admitted finally, causing me to frown.

"And you told Shigure you were going?" I asked, wondering over the stupid dog's judgment in letting an amnesic person wander about in the middle of the night.

"…No…" Yuki admitted while looking to the side. It took me a moment to react. I had been quite certain that Shigure had _let_ Yuki go. Though that seemed unreasonable now that I thought about it… He wouldn't be sneaking about if he was allowed to, right? But I just hadn't thought the faultless prince would go and runaway without telling anyone!

"What are you? A moron?" I shouted incredulously. Forget about the dogs judgment, Yuki's was clearly the one to doubt!

"Will you quiet down a little?" Yuki asked me but I ignored it. How could he be this stupid?

"How in the heavens did you think it was a good idea to sneak out in the middle of the night without telling anyone? You were never this stupid before." I found myself chastising him and he bristled.

"Stop telling me how I was before. I have no recollection of being any other way than the way I am."

"Well of course you don't; you're freaking amnesic!" I snapped and the words were barely out of my mouth before Yuki exploded on me.

"Can't you just shut your trap? I have no idea why all of you are so bent on insisting things like this! It's driving me insane!" His voice came out harsh and high and I glared at him but before I could construct an answer he stole whatever words I might have had.

"Why do you insist it? Does me not remembering you really make me amnesic?" The question was accusing and I found myself speechless. I don't think I would have been able to say the words that sat at the tip of my tongue if my life so depended on it. I must have remained silent for too long, for Yuki turned his head away so his bangs shadowed his face before he pushed past me. I didn't turn to see if he returned to the house or not. Only when his footsteps had long since disappeared from my hearing could I voice the answer to his last question.

"Yes" I told the night quietly.

-:YUKI'S POV:-

I was fuming. Why did he have to follow me? My reason for leaving the house had been to be alone for a moment. A chance to take a walk to gather my thoughts in peace without anyone there to tell me my thoughts were wrong! But of course it had to be spoilt by that stupid orangehead! How _dare_ he come out of nowhere and scold me like that! I opened the door as I had finally reached the house and slammed it shut with more force than I had intended. I heard the windows rattle and as I took of my shoes I heard approaching footsteps.

"Yuki! What are you doing up at this ungodly hour?" Shigure said with his voice full of surprise.

"I went for a walk." I answered, and not feeling up to explaining myself further I started to head for the stairs.

"Yuki, wait a moment." His voice wasn't pleading, it was commanding. I stopped and after debating whether to or not to, I turned to face him.

"You shouldn't have gone outside at this time, especially not clothed like that. Summer is on its way, but the nights are still chilly. It could have bad effects on your bronchi. What if something happened?" He chided me and the last part was probably ment to soothe me, but ruffled as I was from my earlier dust with Kyo I only felt irritation at it.

"I wasn't going to be gone long. Geez, you could think you were speaking to a child." I tried to keep my tone light but it sounded false even to my ears. I wasn't even certain why I was trying in the first place; I had just done it out of reflex.

"A matter of fact is that you are still very much a child." He answered to it and though I was quite certain he wasn't being condescending, I felt angered by it. I did not like to be treated like a child.

"Since it's late I'll go to bed now." I abruptly declared and turned again. Before I had taken a handful of steps he interrupted me.

"Yuki" He only said my name but I still turned and looked back at him.

"Weren't you the one who complained about ungodly hours?" I asked but he ignored my try at ending the conversation.

"Yuki, I don't want you wandering around on your own. Especially not during the night."

"Good night." I turned to leave once more but he wasn't finished.

"Promise me, Yuki." He said sternly and I bit my lip.

"Promise" Shigure repeated and I couldn't quite place the feeling that carried with his voice. It wasn't a plea, but neither was it a command anymore. It was somewhere in between.

"I won't go out alone during the night without prior notice." I finally told him. It wasn't quite what he had asked me for, but I couldn't bend further in this question. I wouldn't promise to have someone with me whenever I went somewhere. I just wouldn't.

"Fair enough. Good night Yuki." He let me go with that, but I felt like the discussion wasn't over. It had only been pushed away for now. It would surely come back to haunt me later.

"Good night" I answered softly before I finally headed up the stairs for my own room. As I walked I could faintly hear the door open and close again downstairs and Shigure's voice reached me as well before I closed the door behind me and entered the silent confines of my room. From what I had heard before I closed the door, Kyo had returned.

I started to undress slowly as thoughts swirled inside my mind. Try as I might, I couldn't chase away the doubts that gnawed at me. Ever since I had woken that day with Shigure and Ayame-nii in my room, I hadn't been able to push it away. There had to be a reason for their persistence, but I couldn't have forgotten lots of things without knowing, right? I mean, shouldn't you feel like there's something missing? Have a feeling of déjà vu about some event or just an odd feeling? I'd had none of that. So the logical conclusion was that I wasn't really amnesic, right?

…

So why couldn't I chase away these doubts that plagued my thoughts day and night? By now I had taken of my clothes and started to button my pajama top. Fully dressed for the night I stretched and decided to try and push the difficult thoughts away for the night. Picking up the diary I had yet to read through I pulled the covers back and snuggled down before picking up where I left of last time.

-:SHUGURE'S POV:-

When I heard the door slam I was only partially surprised. I thought I'd heard a thud earlier and guessed that Kyo jumped out the window again. I still went to check who it was and to my surprise found that it was Yuki. I hadn't realized he'd left and his expression was upset.

"Yuki! What are you doing up at this ungodly hour?" I said more out of reflex than anything. He didn't look at me as he answered, instead putting away his shoes.

"I went for a walk." Yuki said before he passed me and headed for the stairs. Oh no, young man. That explanation won't do. It's about time I take some charge of these kids.

"Yuki, wait a moment." It took a moment but Yuki eventually stopped and turned to me. Making my voice a little bit sterner, I chastised him.

"You shouldn't have gone outside at this time, especially not clothed like that. Summer is on its way, but the nights are still chilly. It could have bad effects on your bronchi. What if something happened?" I added the last part as a soothing gesture. I didn't want him running around, especially not in the condition he was in. Bad enough I'd let him get amnesic in the first place, not that I could have done much. But if I let him get down with a bad asthma attack… It would be the cause of my way to early funeral.

"I wasn't going to be gone long. Geez, you could think you were speaking to a child." I must admit I was a bit taken aback by Yuki's response. It was a poor attempt at keeping the tone light. It was definitely not good enough to fool me. But what was surprising was that it _almost_ was something the Yuki with his memories would do. Hm, so some behavioral patterns still remain. I'd suspected as much, but the way he dealt with Tohru and Kyo were definitely not as they were before.

"A matter of fact is that you are still very much a child." I told him this mostly to get some time to think but I realized it was the wrong thing to say even before the moment he turned and declared he was off to bed.

"Yuki" I stopped him by calling his name before he could walk away. This wasn't over with yet. I had a few things I needed to clear now, the rest could wait.

"Weren't you the one who complained about ungodly hours?" He asked but I ignored his try at ending the conversation.

"Yuki, I don't want you wandering around on your own. Especially not during the night." I left out the 'and _especially_ not in your current condition' part as I knew he hadn't quite come to terms with it yet. Another thing I would have to work with later.

"Good night." He turned to leave once more but I wouldn't let him leave without promising.

"Promise me, Yuki." I told him sternly.

"Promise" I repeated it once more and found that some of my distress slipped into my voice. He seemed to contemplate it and then answered reluctantly.

"I won't go out alone during the night without prior notice." It wasn't exactly what I'd wanted to hear, but I guess it would have to do. It wasn't too wise to push him right now; he'd most certainly already bent as far as he could in this question. A boy's pride can be such a bothersome thing.

"Fair enough. Good night Yuki." I let him know he was free to leave now and I saw relief wash over him. It was also evident in his voice as he told me good night.

As his footsteps faded away I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. Before I got time to make any serious musings though, I was interrupted by the door opening behind me. I turned and found Kyo walking in with a dark look on his face. His clothes looked a bit rumpled and the disgruntled look on his face was such that I couldn't help but wonder…

"My, what have you been up to now Kyo-kun? Didn't I tell you to leave Yuki alone?"

"I didn't fight him if that's what you're implying." Came the dark reply and I tilted my head to the side. I thought it was a bit odd for them to have gotten into a fight, but I couldn't fathom what else could have happened to turn his clothes into… _that_.

"Hm, I guess that's good then. But may I ask why you were outside at this time of day?"

"Nothing special…" He muttered and just like Yuki tried to just walk past me. Geez, was I some kind of ornament or something? They would definitely have to learn to listen to me once in a while.

"Kyo" I found that the tactic of just calling his name worked just as fine on the feline as on the other boy and I inwardly sighed. They are so like in some aspects.

"What?"

"I told Yuki this just a moment ago and I'm going to ask you of the same. Don't go outside alone at night. It's hard enough to keep a track of you during the day; I don't want to have to do the same at night."

"Why should you care? It's not like you care much during the day anyway…" He grumbled and I sent a hard look his way.

"I'm more aware of where you are during your free time than you would like to think. Ever since you started living here it became _my_ responsibility to make sure you didn't go off and do anything stupid." I noticed how he bristled and corrected what he was most likely thought I meant with it.

"The same goes for Yuki. Both of you are under my care and I will not have you running around late at night where I can't watch out for you. So you will stay home at night, are we clear?" I put my authority to the test here. I wasn't certain if he would accept me as the adult and guardian I was, but it was about time I reinforced that role. I stayed still under his scrutinizing gaze, quietly controlling my facial expression and fighting not to fidget. And finally it paid off.

"Hmpf, it's not like I want to go outside at night either way. I'm not some damn creep." By giving in he had done the same thing as Yuki. He admitted that I was older and had the right to decide certain things.

…Wonder if I can make him tidy his closet. The thought came with a chuckle and I could just about imagine how Kyo hissed and called me a creep for chuckling all by myself. Or maybe he just did. I looked up and found him giving me a wary look and I gave him a smile in return. Oh, how sleepiness can affect your way of estimating time.

"Well, off to bed with you Kyo-kun. It's way past bedtime for little brats like you." Unsaid is that it's time for old men like me as well. Kyo growled something in reply but I just waved at him cheerfully and he turned his back on me and left without retorting. I gave a soft snort before heading back to my own room.

"Kids these days…" I complained fondly before I stretched and smothered a yawn. Definitely time to sleep. As I closed the door behind me I was instantly cloaked in the familiar darkness of my room. I treaded carefully over the floor to my bed and snuggled down once more. I could hear faint creaking above but soon enough even that stopped and silence fell, finally allowing me to find the rest I deserved.

* * *

Birds chirped happily outside and sunlight entered through the windows, rudely invading my sleep. Roughly dragged back from dreamland I rolled over and groaned. I did not want to get up. But I could already hear soft trampling of what could only be Tohru. She would have the coffee ready in a matter of minutes if I got up and even if I didn't, it would be ready either way. Then she would do the morning kitchen cleaning after breakfast before going to school… Oh, wait, she would most likely stay home like yesterday. That meant I would have to stand the gloomy silence from yesterday for another day?

"Noooooo~! I don't want that!" I complained into my pillow, though only a muffled sound made it through. I'd spent the day before mostly holed up in my workroom and it wasn't appealing to spend another day the same way.

Sighing I pushed myself off the bedding with a stretch. Yuki was certain to stay home, or rather; he didn't have much of a choice. I wouldn't let him leave the house until I was certain he wouldn't blather out his secret or get himself into trouble. Kyo seemed angry yesterday and if Tohru didn't go, neither would he. At least there was only 2 days till the weekend where I could ask someone else of the Sohma adults to go over and watch the kids while I spoke with Yuki's brother and Hatori. Of course, before then I'd have to find a way to deal with them on my own. And I should approach Yuki with some questions so we have something to go on during the meeting. But…

"I don't wanna~!" I complained sulkily and flopped down on the bed again, burying my head under the pillow. I don't want to play parent for that kid! His stupid brother should do that!

Unbidden, a picture of Yuki prettily dressed posing together with a smug Ayame popped into my mind and I shuddered at the thought.

"God have mercy on us should Yuki turn out like his brother…" I muttered and then decided to stop thinking about complicated things. That could wait to after my first cup of coffee for the day.

Once more rising, I changed into my everyday yukata and then went out of my room. As I entered the kitchen I found Tohru washing some plates. I called a good morning to her and when she turned to me with a smile I could see the slight puffing around her eyes. She'd been crying. Of course, I should have thought of that. Yuki and Kyo aren't the only kids I'll have to take care of. Sighing softly I went over and made her put down the dishes she worked on, they were most likely clean either way, and then told her to come and sit. She followed me with her head lowered and when I seated myself by the table she did the same.

"You can speak to me about things that are worrying you, Tohru." I said casually and saw how she tried to dismiss it, saying things were fine. But she must have realized she herself didn't believe it because she went silent in the middle of an excuse.

"I… I always was prepared for the idea of having my memories wiped of the Sohma family. I knew it could happen, but I was certain that Yuki-kun and Kyo would befriend me again if it happened. But I… I" She came to a halt and a single tear fell from her eye as she bit her lower lip. I silently urged her on.

"I never thought that I would be the one to disappear from _his_ memories! He barely speaks to me anymore and when he does he's distant. Every time he sees me, it's as if he wonders if I'm hiding something from him or as if I'm excluding him from something. I miss speaking normally to him!" She finally blurted out and then started sniffling and sobbing, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. Now what? I couldn't exactly go there and hold her, but doing nothing would just be cruel.  
I sighed once more and then reached forward and gently patted her head.

"It's hard on all of us. I'll have a talk with Yuki later so I can speak to him about his behavior. It's not nice to treat girl like that." I said in a jovial tone and saw a small smile break through her sad expression.

"And don't you worry, he's a smart kid. I'm sure he'll remember eventually and then we can have him apologize for all the trouble he's caused!" She laughed nervously and then dried her eyes. Her eyes once more became determined and cheerful, though a hint of distress could still be seen in their depths.

"Until he remembers, I'll do my best!" She exclaimed and pumped her fist. Giving myself a mental pat on the back I smiled encouragingly and then fell down against the table top complaining loudly that I would die if I didn't get any caffeine soon. Instantly flustered, she hurried to get me some coffee, missing my devious smile. Another point for the dog.

* * *

A/N: Now leave a review! It makes me happy!


	4. Weekend plans

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or its characters.  
Warnings: Coarse language, innuendos, future mature content in the form of sex, psychological, abuse, adult situations and yaoi.

A/N: Reviews really motivate me. Thank **quietdisaster** for the review which brought me back from my slump after my asthma attack on the 15th. This update is up, thanks to you.

* * *

-: SHIGURE'S POV :-

The morning dragged on for what felt like ages. One after another the kids would get up to eat their breakfast in silence. Myself, I stayed inside my workroom pretending to be busy once I'd gotten that first cup of coffee.

It was stifling to sit there day and night, but the risk of encountering any of my little charges was way worse. They were doing fine for the moment without me bothering them. It had been bad enough to realize I'd have to include Tohru in my plans.

To be honest I was very unwilling to take care of the problems arising with Yuki's apparent memory loss. I didn't know what to do about it; that was more Hatori's field than mine.  
Who am I kidding, it isn't _more_ of his, it _is_ Hatori's field.

But that wasn't exactly the real reason was it?

Nope, to be _painfully_ honest, I feared that if I tried anything the kids would act like electronic devices when you tampered with them without knowing what you were doing. They tended to explode. Or spark electricity and start to give off smoke. Either way the result would get ugly.

And speaking of electronic devices; why isn't there a manual to kids? One that tells you what to do when the internal storage starts acting up for example. That would be extremely helpful.

I sighed and stopped making bad metaphors of my problems, my head resting heavily on the desktop. Looking at the clock I noticed it wasn't even 11 yet.

"I swear, if I have to stay here for 2 more days, I will go insane. Utterly, completely bonkers. No saving me." I mumbled and proceeded to ever so softly bang my head down against the hard surface. Finding no purpose to doing it, I stopped after a while and put my arms up on the desk and hid my face in the crook of my elbows.

Time dragged by until the phone rang. Lifting my head in a swift motion like a dog to a whistle I rose at the second ring and hurried out to answer it. I lifted the phone and calmly stated:

"The Sohma resident, Shigure speaking."

"Is this a good time?" Hatori's voice asked seriously on the other end and I looked around. No sound came from the kitchen or living room. The kids must have gone to their respective rooms.

"As good as any. What's it about? Don't tell me; a love confession?" I asked jovially and squealed. I could totally picture the look on Ha-san's face, a slight frown creasing his brow and a rebuking look in his eye. I'd seen it a lot of times after all.

"Why does your mind always go somewhere it shouldn't?" Hatori mumbled and I gave a slight chuckle. Oh, you have no idea, my dear friend. I cleared my throat and felt the merriment fade away as I asked again, more seriously this time.

"So what _really_ owes me the pleasure of this talk?"

"Ayame informed me he could have time on Friday evening to speak with us. The earlier we start taking action the better so I wanted to confirm whether it was possible for all of us to meet then." Friday. That meant it was tomorrow. One day less spent holed up! Or night and morning... whatever.

"That works perfectly fine. To be honest, I'm only too happy to change the date. The kids are so gloomy and it's really stifling to be around them~!" I complained. Usually when I complained, he would snub me and leave me to my own devices. But at rare occurrences he would come with advice. Such as this time.

"You should try and occupy them with something; it's not good for any of them to spend too much time thinking about this. Why don't you inquire what they would like to do and see if you can find something, like a movie or picnic? If it comes down to it, you can always bring them to the summer house again. They seemed to like it there and though it isn't a holiday, they could use the break. You'll be sending them off to school starting next week, I assume?"

"Yes, that was the idea. Hm, it actually sounds pretty good to leave the house for a while. I'll still have to make sure Yuki doesn't stray while on a stroll, but I think it'll be good." I pondered the idea for a moment more and then continued.

"But should we move the meeting there as well then? We won't be leaving today, and if we're spending the weekend there, then we'll leave early tomorrow. And if that's the case I won't be able to get down here to meet you as I'll have to keep track of the kids." I'd thought of getting someone else of the Sohmas' to take care of them, but if I was at the summer house it would be a little bit more complicated.

"I can drive Ayame up there and then back again on the morrow if necessary. Give them a curfew so they won't be out late and there should be no worries." Well, I'd already told them to be home before it got dark, but no need to tell him that. Better he think me slightly incompetent and offering me advices that thinking I'm fine on my own.

"I'll break the idea to the kids then." I answered and soon thereafter, ended the call. Heaving a sigh and scratching the back of my head I looked at the stairs. No point in delaying it.

I walked up the stairs and knocked on Tohru's door first. If she wanted to go, Kyo would comply. And if they did, I was certain to be able to convince Yuki. I'd do it one way or another, whether he wanted to go or not.

A moment later the door opened. Tohru peered up at me and smiled.

"Shigure-san. Do you need something?" She asked pleasantly and I donned my cheerfully smiling mask.

"No, I'm fine for the moment. More than fine actually. I got this brilliant idea, you see." Her eyes widened curiously and I grinned.

"How about going to the summer house?" She blinked in surprise and then after thinking for a short time nodded, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

"I'd really like to go!" Her eyes darkened a moment later though and she looked down at the floor.

"But what about school?" She said quietly and I shook my head at her.

"Don't worry! I've already arranged that you won't have to go to school for the rest of the week. We all need some time to adjust and what better way to do that but a trip?" I once more pushed the idea in into her mind and she clasped onto it like a child to a toy.

"If it's really fine, I'll go! Ah, what about Kyo and Yuki-kun?" She asked and I smiled mischievously.

"Oh, you needn't worry. I'll take care of them. We'll all be packing in a moment, just you wait!" She smiled cheerfully at me and then turned to pack her bag after my reassurances that it was fine to start.

I smiled and closed the door for her before I turned to Kyo's room. Kyo proved to be harder to convince.

"Why the fuck should I go to the _summer_house in _spring_?" He asked grumpily and I gave a smug smile.

"Because I say so." That didn't sit well with him, as expected, and he threw a book at me, which was also expected. I dodged it and feigned hurt.

"Why do you have to be so violent all the time? I'm only thinking of your best…"

"Oh shut up you stupid mutt!"

"Here I went out of my way to do something just for your sake, but you toss it out the window like a pile of rags! And poor Tohru who looked forward to it!" I made a melodramatic pose and saw from lowered lashes how Kyo scowled.

"She was so excited she could barely contain it! Already packing her thing, it pains me to have to crush her dreams..." I pressed and saw how his will cracked. Yet another point for the dog. I really should make a list.

"Fine, I'll go." He muttered and I smiled. Keeping my act up, I then waltzed out of the room, tossing one last taunt his way.

"That's a good kitty." When the next book came crashing I was already out of the room and safely behind the protecting wall. I went over to my last charge's room while ignoring the obscenities called after me and knocked heartily on Yuki's door. I waited but when I didn't receive a response, I knocked again.

"Yuki~!" I called in a singsong voice, hoping that he would get irritated enough to open the door, but I was met with silence. I knocked again and when I didn't receive an answer I frowned. He could be ignoring me, but what if he wasn't? Could he have left without me knowing?

"Yuki, I'm opening the door." I called out the warning and after counting to 3 proceeded to do just that.

I peeked inside and then took a couple of steps inside so I could get a better view. The light was off and the curtains blocked the sun, leaving the room in shadows. Frowning I went over and pulled the curtains away, blinking against the light that assaulted my eyes.

A soft groan reached my sensitive ears and I turned around. On the unmade bed, covers pushed back and entangled with his legs lay Yuki. His hair was a tousled mess and he had his arms wrapped around a pillow that at the given moment was used to keep the light out of his eyes.

He shifted and I heard a thud as something fell onto the floor, the something proving to be a book upon closer inspection. Upon even closer inspection, it proved to be a diary. I had moved over to the side of the bed and picked it up but now I didn't know what to do with it.

Yuki seemed hell bent on staying asleep and here I stood with his diary, unlocked and just waiting to be read. But I couldn't do that! That would be breaking his privacy!

…

And since when did that stop me? I opened the book and found a small bookmark that hadn't fallen out despite the earlier fall and I looked at the pages it was parked between, skimming through its content. When I finished I flipped back a couple of pages and skimmed through the text there. I continued this, all the while keeping half of my attention focused on the sleeping teen.

The content of the diary was pretty boring, seeing it from the perspective of a writer. Daily happenings with focus on unimportant things. It didn't even focus much on Yuki's thoughts and feeling about things! It rather focused on the facts of what happened, what had been said and done.

But it was interesting in a different light. Yuki was reading it, meaning that he, though denying it, must know that he's really amnesic. That makes the situation easier than if he didn't realize it. He's just being stubborn since he doesn't want to appear weak.  
I sighed and gave a tsk-ing sound.

"Truly, kids are so stubborn these days. Stubborn to the point of idiocy." I said this quietly to myself, but I noticed how Yuki shifted in reaction to the words and decided that it was time for me to take my leave. I closed the diary and looked at it for a moment. It was in my nature to manipulate things so they went the way I wanted it to. What was the best action to take? I considered different actions and consequences before I came to a decision.  
Ignoring my initial impulse, I slipped the book back into the sleeping teens grasp and slipped out of the room before he could stir.

They do say to let sleeping dogs lie. I was fairly certain the same could be applied for rats.

* * *

-: KYO'S POV :-

After Shigure got out of view I gave up on throwing things after him. That didn't stop me from calling obscenities after him for a while though. I had woken with a terrible mood this morning and the dog's declaration that we were going to the summerhouse only furthered my descent into darkness. I didn't feel like going out of my way to go somewhere, I'd rather just hole up in my room or spend my time in the dojo, which I'd neglected the past week. But since _someone_ had to tell Tohru, I couldn't just not go. I was certain he'd planned it all beforehand, that bastard.

I kicked a pillow that had fallen to the floor when I reached for a book to throw at the aggravating man and watched as it flew across the room to smack into the wall with a low thump. I stomped across the room and glared down at the rumpled pillow before I noticed the open door.

"'_Just thinking of you best_.' _**My ass!**_" I growled before I slammed the door shut. Picking up the pillow from the floor next to me I walked over and flopped down on my bed, pillow in a vice grip against my chest. I then proceeded to glare daggers at the wall.

"_That's a good kitty."_ The words echoed in my mind and I growled ferociously. Why'd he have to go and tick me of? He surely planned to do that as well, it wouldn't surprise me. He ticked me off like no other when he was in the mood to! Only that stu-.

No, I won't even go there.

Forcibly turning my thoughts around I slipped out of bed and started to pace around the room.

After doing this for a time I finally managed to calm down enough to realize the futility of getting angry over something so trivial. With a heavy sigh I let out some of my pent up aggravation and rubbed a hand across my face.

"It's just the summer house. No need to get so upset…" I told myself repeatedly and sighed again before I crossed my arms across my chest and stared out the window. The sky was clear and blue and the trees swayed softly by the winds strokes. There wasn't really anything bad about the day itself.

Sighing, I decided to start packing. I hadn't asked when we were going, but I guessed it was soon. Better get the packing out if the way so I wouldn't be caught off guard when he decided to tell me we were leaving. It wouldn't be the first time he'd done that.

When I was done I was much calmer and I headed down the stairs to see if Tohru had begun lunch yet. As it was, I found her checking the rice, fish frying in the pan and vegetables in a state of partially chopped. She looked up and smiled at me when I went closer, and taking it as an invitation I took over the vegetables.

We cooked side by side, working like a well oiled machine. Things got done quite quickly and I proceeded to help her put the dishes on the table before I seated myself. As I started to put food on my plate I realized it had been a while since I spoke with Tohru, or even been with her like this. I'd been so worked up about my own problems that I had practically shut her out.

"Sorry." I said and she looked up in surprise.

"Huh? Why are you apologizing Kyo?" She asked with an oblivious look on her face.

"Well, you know… For not being around that much lately…" I said awkwardly.

"Ah. There's no need to apologize! Really! We've all been pretty caught up in our own worlds…" Her expression had been slightly frantic in the beginning as she tried to ease my worries, but by the end of it she looked crestfallen.

"Yeah…" I answered. There wasn't really much to say to that.

After a sort of heavy silence, Tohru spoke up again.

"Do you think Yuki hates me?"

"What?" I asked out of reflex. I hadn't expected something like that, but by the look on her face she had been thinking about this for a while.

"What makes you think that?" This turned out to be a stupid question. Tohru lowered her head so her eyes were covered by her bangs and put her hands stiffly in her lap.

"He doesn't greet me anymore unless I do it first. I spoke to Shigure this morning and he said he'd talk to Yuki, but I don't know if that's a good idea. I know I should be there for him like he's been there for me, but I don't know what to do when he doesn't even acknowledge me!" The words started to tumble out of her and her already stiff position turned stiffer.

"Well… I don't think he hates you." She looked up at me with a slight hope shining in her eyes. Swallowing and looking away lest I'd lose my nerve, I continued.

"I don't claim to know what that rat thinks, but I can't see him hating you just like that. He's a bit of an asshole right now, but I guess stress do that to you. If he doesn't get his act together I'll personally make sure he does, and he'll be sorry when he realizes how he's acted. I promise. So don't cry, okay?" An awkward silence followed my sappy words and I felt sweat start to form on my brow. Damn, did I say something wrong?

"Beautiful…" The dramatically sobbed word made goose bumps appear all over my body and I refused to turn around to confirm my fear.

"I really misjudged you Kyo-kun! Deep inside, even someone like you hides a poet! Ah, such sweet words to tell a maiden. I didn't know you had it in you." An armed snaked its way around my shoulder and the dramatic phrases made my face burst into a crimson blush. Oh god…

"Shut up you and get away from me! And stop sounding like that stupid snake; it sounds even more creepy coming from you than it does from him!" I pushed the man away but even my angry retort couldn't wipe the smug grin of his face. Damn, he was going to tease me about this for ages to come! But the humiliation wasn't over with.

"Did I miss something?" I snapped my attention over to Yuki who stood some paces away by the door, an eyebrow raised in question. He was dressed in a pair of slacks and a white chinese shirt with gold at the ends and unlike the day prior, he looked like he'd spent some time on his appearance. The tone he used was almost that which I was used to but I didn't spare any time thinking about it. I could already see the dog prepare himself for a speech that would come to haunt me for the rest of my days. I had to stop it!

"You missed nothing. Nothing worth mentioning at least, right Tohru? Oh this food is delicious by the way!" I said and vainly tried to shift focus unto the food. Yuki gave me a quizzical look but then seemingly let it go. Seeing as he'd lost his chance, Shigure sighed and moved to take his place and we all focused on our food.

Or at least that was what I thought.

"I still wonder what could be so unworthy of mentioning that it makes a man blush like a maiden." Yuki said conversationally after a moment and I choked on the rice I had put in my mouth moments before. Shigure laughed heartily and as I tried to recover I lost my chance to protect my honor.

"My, that way of phrasing, are you hinting at something Yuki? I don't even know whether I should clear your _suspicions_ or not!" Shigure said turning the comment in a very awkward direction, and he almost managed to hold back a loud laugh. Almost being the keyword. He doubled over and held a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughs, his whole body shaking.

I had to admire Yuki's poker face though. He only gave me a glance and raised his brow again with a small twitch at the corner of his mouth indicating his mirth.

"Stop spewing perverted nonsense!" I said in a slightly choked voice and then cleared my throat.

"I didn't say anything of the sort. Could it be that you took it that way? Oh Kyo, you perv!" Shigure exclaimed between laughs and I decided this was a good time to beat some much needed common sense into him.

Launching myself at him I managed to tip the table slightly, resulting in plates tipping over and spilling their content. Tohru exclaimed franticly that we shouldn't fight but I was busy trying to strangle the dog, who in turn held my arms at bay above him.

"Thanks for the food." Yuki's words broke my focus and I turned to look at him. He rose and straightened his clothes slightly; a look of slight exasperation mixed with indifference on his slightly turned away face. Tohru looked over at him and after hesitating spoke up.

"Ah, are you done already? Was there something you didn't like about it?"

"No, it was good. There's no need for worry." His tone was light but he didn't look at her as he spoke, instead picking up his plates and taking them with him into the kitchen.

I was shocked. Two sentences, that was all. He didn't even bother looking at her or saying her name. Though she tried to hide it, I could see she was upset.

I hadn't noticed when he did it, but Shigure had gently pushed me back and was now rising, dusting his clothes of while looking towards the kitchen.

"I guess it's unavoidable at this point… I'd better have that little chat and get it over with."He murmured in a low voice that barely reached my ears. As he headed towards the door where Yuki had disappeared through, he passed Tohru and patted her shoulder. When she looked up at him, he winked and after giving an encouraging squeeze to the shoulder, disappeared.

I looked after him for a time more and for a moment thought I could hear muffled voices. Tohru was apparently also listening, if the slight tilting of her head towards the door was any indication.

A sudden crash had us both jumping in our seats and I nearly missed the sound of fast tapping footsteps disappearing into the distance. When the initial shock was over I hurried to the door and found that Tohru was right behind me. We opened the door and our eyes instantly fell on Shigure who stood by the sink, a crashed bowl at his feet and a finger in his mouth. He removed the finger, which proved to hold a small cut, and looked at us before giving a slightly baffled smile.

"Boom?" He said and I couldn't help but wonder if he'd finally gone nuts.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the lateness and shortness! There really wasn't anything else to put inside this chapter. It's a bit of a filler before I head onto the summerhouse and the mysteries there.

And come on! I couldn't possibly write anything after Shigure's: "Boom?"  
Those who didn't get it, he referred to his earlier musings concerning electronic devices that tend to explode when you tamper with them.

I know Kyo let go of his anger too easily, but that's just him trying to act cool and collected. Don't worry, he'll have his moment as well.


	5. Tension

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket or its characters!  
Warnings: Friendly bonding between Tohru and Kyo. First and, probably, last Tohru's pov. Coarse language, future yaoi, possible OOC

* * *

-: KYO'S POV :-

"Boom?" I questioned but Shigure just shook his head and put his slightly bleeding finger back into his mouth with a thoughtful look on his face.

"What happened?" Tohru asked in a slightly quivering voice.

"Hmm? Whell, guess I overdid't." Shigure mumbled and turned his gaze away. I followed his absentminded gaze and found that it was centered on the other door- which happened to be open-leading to and from the kitchen and hallway.

"Overdid it?" I asked him and he shrugged before mumbling something inaudible, a slightly sulky note to his tone. Starting to get annoyed by his inaudible mutterings, I went over and ripped the finger out of his mouth.

"Stop sucking your finger and talk to us. What did you tell Yuki?" He stared at me and I stared back.

"Since when were you concerned about Yuki?"

"Wha- Since he started throwing things around and treating Tohru like crap!" I nearly winced at my own choice of words but didn't give up. He was going to tell me or I would go and beat the truth out of Yuki, forbidden or not.

"Oh? How very chivalrous of you, but this is none of you concern. No, no, Tohru leave that be. I'll take care of it." He turned around and took the pieces Tohru had begun to gather of the floor and placed them on the counter, dismissing my presence. I wouldn't stand for it though.

"What do you mean it's got nothing to do with me? We're living in the same house! How can y-."

"Kyo, I will not repeat myself. I'm taking care of it, so let it be." His voice held an edge I hadn't expected and I snapped my jaws shut around the words I'd been about to utter. Unfortunately, I wasn't that good at guarding my tongue and a quiet mumble managed to escape.

"You obviously didn't handle it any good just now."

I realized I'd crossed the line the moment the words were out of my mouth, but unfortunately there was no way to take them back. He straightened and the fact that I couldn't see his face worried me. If I couldn't see him, I couldn't gauge how bad it was, and I had a bad feeling telling me I'd done something extremely stupid.

"Tohru, can you leave us for a moment? I'll take care of the dishes, so why don't you make sure you have packed everything? It won't do to forget something important after all." Tohru looked between the two of us and then apparently came to the decision to leave. She timidly exited the kitchen after giving the scene one last glance over her shoulder.

When she had disappeared it felt like the very atmosphere turned darker. I swallowed nervously and shifted restlessly where I stood. Shigure still wouldn't look at me, and his silence only further unnerved me. When he finally spoke, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"You will listen to what I say now, Kyo. You're going to listen and do what I tell you to." I kept silent and waited for him to continue.

"The situation is pretty delicate and I won't have you questioning my actions when it comes to Yuki. We adults will take care of it, and when I say adults, I mean Hatori, Ayame and I mostly. You, on the other hand, are to give us room and not make things worse. Are we clear?" I did not agree on this. I didn't like being so obviously excluded. But I didn't feel up to risking my own skin for the sake of the rat. That was definitely not on my list.

"I said, are we clear?" He repeated and looked at me over his shoulder. I finally got to see his expression; it was closed off and intimidating. Very much unlike any other facet of his I'd seen. I swallowed once more and then nodded. I saw his silent urge for a vocal assertion and I cleared my throat and attempted to sound braver than I was at the given moment.

"Sure…" Okay, that sounded weak. Shigure turned away from me again and picked up a jagged piece of a plate and looked at it.

"That is all for now Kyo. Now, seeing as you've already gone and made this more difficult, you can go and fix the problems yourself. Go to Tohru and distract her or something. And if you haven't already, go and pack your things. We are leaving tomorrow morning." There was finality to those words that couldn't be mistaken for anything else.

I didn't answer, instead taking that as my queue to leave and forced myself not to run as I went out of the room. I paused right outside of eyeshot and it was due to this that I caught the dog's last words.

"Man, what have I gotten myself into?" It was said ever so softly and I couldn't be certain what emotions drifted on the words. But I thought I felt a soft tinge of guilt or remorse. Something along those lines at the least.

Careful not to alert the dog that I'd heard him, as the words were obviously not intended for me, I silently made my way through the corridor and then headed to Tohru's room. The door wasn't closed properly but I still knocked and waited for her response.

"Come in" She called and when I did I found her sitting on the floor by her things, looking at me. A bit of the worry that was on her expression faded at the sight of me and I awkwardly scratched the back of my head.

"Uhm…" I said awkwardly and then decided to just get on with it.

"…So… you got everything?"

"Yeah"

"Okay…"

'Easier said than done' proved to be just right to describe this. Silence fell between us and since I had only really gone here to not further cross Shigure, I hadn't thought through anything to say or do. Eventually it was Tohru who broke the silence.

"Was he very mad?" She asked quietly and when I met her eyes she looked away. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, uh, it's fine. He wasn't all that angry, he just asked me to let him handle things without butting in." I left out the fact that he hadn't asked but demanded that I stay out of this hassle and not make a complete nuisance out of myself.  
And I obviously wasn't completely honest by telling her he hadn't been angry. I'd rarely or maybe even never seen the dog that angry. He always handled everything so calmly with a sense of ease that verged on the abnormal.  
Something must have happened to tick the man off. I wasn't certain I wanted to know what could do that…

"I'm glad…" Tohru's relieved sigh brought me back from my own musings and I took in the faint smile breaking through the worry on her expression.

"You needn't really worry in the first place, silly. It's not like he'll kick me out or something." I said lightly and she shook her head agreeing that it was a bit stupid of her. Though I said that, I wasn't all too sure he wouldn't. I mean, though he hadn't said it outright, some hidden threats were most likely embedded in the words he'd told me.  
_"You, on the other hand, are to give us room and not make things worse. Are we clear?"__  
_Yep, that could definitely hold a threat or two if you squinted hard enough.

"Do you think I should ask him?" And here I realized I'd missed her words again without intending to. I seemed to be doing that more often recently.

"What?" I asked and she fidgeted before she clarified herself.

"Uhm… Yuki has a garden… I don't think he's been tending it since he got… ill… and I wondered if I should ask him about it or not…"

"He has a garden?"

"Yeah, it's sort of a special place for him. Please don't tell him I've told you!"

"What, is it a secret or something?" She nodded guiltily.

"If you weren't supposed to talk about it, why did you?" I asked exasperatedly.

"I don't want it to be neglected, but I don't know whether it's okay for me to go and tend to it. And we're leaving tomorrow so it needs at least some tending before we leave!" She exclaimed and then, much quieter added "I just wanted your advice…"

Adding that, she pretty much guilt tripped me into helping her, whether it was intentional or not was left to wonder. I thought about it for a moment and since the initial surprise of the revelation had faded I came up with an answer pretty quickly.

"You can go and check on the garden. It's not like he needs to know you've done it. You can speak to him later about it. I think Shigure would prefer we leave Yuki alone for the moment."

"Is Shigure-san angry at Yuki?"

"I don't know." I said and shrugged it off but she bit her lower lip and I was once more forced to clarify myself to save myself the guilt that would come with the look on her face.

"I really don't know, but I think he's more annoyed than angry. If anyone's angry it's me. Going off and losing his memory, that idiot." I groused and though that wasn't exactly the most reassuring thing to say, she seemed to be relieved by it.

"Kyo, you're always mad at him." She said with a light giggle. Was she really not bothered by my anger at the rat?

"So what? It's not like he's any better." She giggled again and I felt a slight annoyance at the way she dismissed my comment.

"Are you going to check the garden or not?" I asked and she nodded before rising. She halted and then suddenly offered to lead the way there, inviting me to follow.

"Are you certain about that? It's the rat's garden." I told her seriously and she hesitated again.

"But I don't want to exclude you." She said quietly and it stunned me. Just moments before, I had been angered at Shigure for being excluded and later when I realized Tohru had a secret with Yuki, I had felt the same anger. But now Tohru was offering me to join in on that secret. A warm feeling flowed inside me and I looked away to hide my embarrassment. It felt nice to be included.

But…

"You should go. I don't want to make you breach your word more than you already have." And that was true. I didn't want her to break someone's trust just to include me. I wasn't that selfish.

"Okay… Thank you, Kyo." She said after a moment and then left. I left soon thereafter and headed back to my own room where I flopped down on the bed.

I had been offered to join in on something private. I had declined.

It was good enough. I had made the right decision.

Knowing this you may think I'd be content. But since my mind wasn't occupied at the moment it started to drift in an annoying direction. My talk with Shigure was one thing it decided to focus on. He'd practically told me to stay the fuck away from Yuki, but I had promised Tohru to speak to him on her behalf, trying to bring some of his senses back. But if Shigure was around he'd rather send me to my room with a death glare than let me speak to the rat.

So it was a bit of a dilemma. On one hand, I wanted to shake some sense into Yuki and see if I couldn't get his old behavior back. On the other hand, I didn't want to risk incurring the dog's wrath. He seemed pretty pissed at the moment.

I sighed and rolled over. Just like life to get so complicated. With these thoughts swirling in my mind I got up and went for a walk outside, hoping to distract myself and pass the time until dinner.

-: TOHRU'S POV :-

After my talk with Kyo I felt lighter at heart. Shigure-san had looked really frightening before, so I had been afraid he'd scold Kyo really badly. But Kyo looked fine and showed his old spirit by complaining about Yuki. That was another thing I was glad about. Ah, I wasn't glad that he still hated him! Just, I was glad he showed it rather than just silently sulking.

I put on a jacket over my light top and then put on my shoes and headed out the door after calling that I'd be back in a moment.

When I arrived at the garden, or what Yuki preferred to call it, his 'secret base', I found it was just as I'd feared. Weeds had started to sprout and the plants started to look withered. I hurried to start plucking the weeds and then went on to water and straighten the different plants, checking their condition more closely.

It was lucky that it hadn't been more days before I remembered, since the days had been hot and dry the earth was light and powdery. As it was, none of the plants would go to waste. I proceeded to prepare the plants for the coming days and when I was done I straightened and with a smile looked at the result. It already looked much better!

I was happy with the result but felt that I was tired. Looking up at the sky I had to raise my arm to shadow my eyes at the brightness of it. It was a beautiful day today as well. As I turned I caught a glance of Yuki's window and noticed that it was open.

Moving a bit so I could get a better look I realized that Yuki was actually sitting by his window looking out. He had a tired and distant look and I couldn't help but think he looked like a princess in a tower, waiting for her knight in shining armor. I blushed furiously at the idea and buried my face in my hands.

Once I got the idea out of my head I glanced up again and then looked around me for some place to hide. I hurried to the closest tree and hid behind it, looking up at him. I wasn't certain why I was being so secretive, but I didn't want Yuki to notice me.

The wind tousled his dark silver hair, and he leaned heavily against the window frame. I couldn't help but notice how tired he looked. If only there was something I could do for him!

But even after thinking about it for what seemed like ages, I couldn't think of anything. I'd taken care of his garden, so perhaps when he returned to normal he'd appreciate it. I know! I could show him it when we got back from the summer house!

Ah, but we haven't even gone there yet... I need to stop planning things ahead like this, I berated myself and then noticed how Yuki closed the window and latched it. Seeing as he was gone, I came out of hiding and headed back inside.

I headed out to the kitchen to see if Shigure had finished with cleaning up and found that the kitchen looked okay. At least he'd picked up the pieces, but otherwise it didn't look that good. Finding something to do, I put on my gloves, headdress and apron and got started with the cleaning.

In the end, there wasn't much that escaped my cleaning.

-: SHIGURE'S POV :-

A couple of minutes after I'd sent Kyo away I sighed and gave up my poor attempt at cleaning up the mess on the kitchen floor. I was too distracted to do a good job with it.  
I felt a bit ashamed about the way I'd snapped at Kyo earlier. Sure, he'd been obstinate and annoying but I should have been able to handle it. Easily even. I was used to Ayame after all, and staying around him for long could grate extremely on the nerves of even the most experienced person.

No, the reason I'd snapped was because he did that very annoying thing called hitting a sore spot. I realized I'd handled my talk with Yuki pretty badly, taking his reaction of throwing a nearby bowl and plate on the floor in consideration. I'd never seen the boy get really angry before, it had been a surprise. I guess even collected people like him had their moments. I knew for a fact that Hatori did, and he was one of the most docile persons I knew.

But on to my earlier thoughts, Kyo had pointed out what I myself had already told myself and I was quite mortified to hear it said out loud. Though it was bad of me to snap, it led me to draw another line with the kid. Hopefully he'd take my words to heart since I told him so sternly.

But you never knew with the cat. Best to keep a watchful eye on him just in case.

Sighing, I put the last pieces of the plate on the counter and then left for my office. After wrapping my wound I seated myself by the table there and continued with my musings. Before Kyo, Yuki had snapped at me. Something I said had really ticked him off, but what could it be?

"Hmm… I do wonder…" I murmured out loud and placed my chin in my hand, elbow resting on the tabletop.

I repeated the conversation we'd had my mind, but couldn't decide whether he got angry because I once more pressed him about his amnesia or because I told him to suck it up and face reality. It could be both, of course.

But something told me there was more to it…

"Shigure-san! I'm leaving for a bit, but I'll be back soon!" Tohru's voice cut through my musings and I realized I'd lost track of the time. It had been some time since Yuki stormed of; perhaps he had cooled down enough to be reasonable? I still had questions to ask him after all.

And I did wonder what would happen if I attempted to speak to him again. I was often told that I was too curious for my own good and I did agree that I played with the fire quite a bit, so to say.

It didn't take long before I decided to go and speak to the teen. I rose and stretched a little and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Qué será, será" I said and then went out of my office and headed upstairs.

Stopping before Yuki's door I contemplated whether to knock beforehand or simply open and waltz in. I decided on the first, to be on the safe side.

I knocked once, twice and thrice. Then I waited. Movements could be heard from the other side and then a click was heard from the lock. Did he just lock the door? I was about to knock again when the lock clicked again and then the door was opened.

"What do you want?" Yuki asked and I showed him a pleasant smile.

"I want to talk to you."

"The last time you said that you ignored what I had to say and went on to a one-sided conversation." He told me accusingly and I felt my smile falter a bit. Okay, so that was definitely a sore spot. I'd better listen to him more carefully in the future.

"Ah, don't worry. I'll listen to you as long as you listen to me. Deal?" It took a moment for Yuki to answer; he seemingly doubted the sincerity of my offer. Quite wise, though I didn't think I had given him all that much reason to doubt me… Well, that could be speculated on later. I waited patiently for Yuki's answer, and while waiting I started making up several other plans should this one backfire.

"… Deal" But in the end it seemed like plan A would suffice. When Yuki agreed, he opened the door fully, allowing me to step inside, which I did. I then walked across the floor and proceeded to sit down on the sole chair in the room. Yuki himself closed the door and then sat down on his bed and looked at me expectantly.

"Well? I'm listening" He said, inviting me to start and I smiled before I struck up the conversation.

"I was a tiny bit harsh earlier, sorry."Best to begin on the safe side. An apology should suffice to patch up whatever damage I did before.

"Okay, I… I guess I was a bit harsh as well. I shouldn't have broken the plates. Sorry." He admitted and then brushed some of his dark silver hair away from his face.

"All forgiven." I said with a smile and he relaxed a little. So he _was_ feeling a little guilty about his tantrum? Good to know.

"That wasn't all, was it?"Yuki pointed out and I shook my head. Now came the tricky part. How should I phrase this without having him blow up in my face again? There's nothing too dangerous close by, is there? I checked discreetly just in case, but the most dangerous equipment of the room was the lamp and pens on the desk, which fortunately was placed behind me. Clearing my throat and scratching my face in an attempt to act more casual, I began.

"No of course not. Well, hmm, how to say this… I know you hate it when we say you are amnesic." Yuki visibly tensed and I mentally grimaced. He really didn't like the mention of it, did he? Before he snapped at me in the kitchen I'd assumed he'd accepted that he was amnesic since he'd started reading his old diary. Oh, how wrong I was.

But…

"I want you to know that we only say so because we don't see any other explanation." I tried to convey my point carefully and I must have succeeded for he didn't get angry. At least not obviously so. Apart from that tiny twitch by his nose that was growing more apparent the longer I dallied.

"Given all the fact we have it's the only logical conclusion we can come to." I finished quickly, keeping very close watch on the small twitches betraying the rat's annoyance. They disappeared and a moment later, Yuki spoke up.

"Okay. But I still can't see why you are so insistent. I've been telling you this whole time I'm not and…" He went silent, glowering silently as if daring me to read his mind.

"And it must have been hard for you to have us at your back all the time, nagging." I finished for him and he nodded.

"Yes."

_Phew._ If he'd said "No", I wouldn't have known what to do. Ah, it was tiring to try and read this kid. Sighing I continued our discussion.

"I see that, but please see it from our point. You don't know about some things that we… _think_ that you should know." I managed to change what I said just in time. Yuki wouldn't have appreciated it if I said "things that we _know_ you should know".

"You really aren't playing are you?" Yuki's question surprised me and I blinked as I looked at him. He met my eyes briefly before averting his gaze, leaning back against the wall and fidgeting with the comforter with one hand.

The annoyance I'd seen before had been replaced by a sour thoughtfulness. He seemed more receptive now as well, so I decided to do what I do best, play with the fire and hope things go well.

"No Yuki, I'm not. I may joke about a lot of things, but never something like this."My answer felt sooo fabricated. Damn it was cliché. But I had to admit it was the best thing to tell the kid.

In the oblivious state he was in, given his amnesia, he would surely see the words as comforting rather than manipulative like the old Yuki would. Though I must also admit that some form of sympathy had urged me to utter them. I must be getting sentimental with age.

Silence stretched between us and I was surprised to realize that I didn't mind waiting for a response. I was surprised by what he did answer though when he finally did.

"Still no good." He said and shook his head, which earned an owlish look from me.

"What?"

"I still don't get the feeling I've lost my memories. I thought that if I listened to you I'd get some feeling or something, but it's no good. Sorry, but I can't believe you about the memory loss thing."

"Okay…" I said this since I really didn't have anything else to say. Just how much in denial could you be? Did he expect some grand déjà vu feeling or what? I shook my head and pushed the thought away for now, instead focusing on what I should say. _Focus_, Shigure, _focus_.

"Hm, well that is too bad. I'll have to try and prove it to you later then, won't I?" I said, once more back safely behind my usual mask. Yuki gave me a baffled glance and stilled his hands fidgeting movement.

"Huh? Yeah, you'll pretty much have to do that." He said in response and I nodded as if it confirmed something. It didn't really, but it made for an easy end to the talk. Now to tie up loose ends and make my great escape…

"Well, now on to the last thing I wanted to talk about. We will be leaving for the summerhouse tomorrow! " I grinned at his baffled look and though he appeared a bit miffed, he didn't protest.

"A warning would have been nice." He muttered and I feigned hurt.

"I would have told you earlier, but you were sleeping when I was going to tell you, and then I got distracted by Kyo-kun's poetic speech! And you know how things went after _that_." Yuki grimaced and I grinned once more.

"Either way, you should make sure to pack your things since we're leaving before lunchtime tomorrow." I told him flippantly and he huffed.

"If you say so." I gave him a smile that said "I say so" and then rose. Deeming my mission accomplished, I said goodbye to Yuki and headed back downstairs and took one of Tohru's sandwiches. I returned to my office with the food and started to plan for the trip.

I'd have to arrange for a car…

-: KYO'S POV :-

I woke early the next day and decided that I might as well get up and take a shower before the morning rush started. We'd be leaving before lunch as I'd understood it, taking lunch with us to eat there. Tohru would be up fixing the food in an hour or so, and you never knew with the other two. Either they woke or they didn't. Shigure was more reliable in that aspect, never sleeping later than 9. Yuki could sleep half the day away if he wanted to.

By the time the others got up, I had already showered, dressed and eaten breakfast consisting of cereals and milk. I watched Yuki as he ate but I didn't get a chance to confront him before Shigure sent all thoughts of it scrambling away with a warning glare from across the room. Tohru was like she usually was, though she seemingly found something to do every time Yuki got within eyeshot.

I was growing increasingly bored as the morning dragged on but couldn't really bring myself to do anything as I waited for Shigure to tell us we were leaving. I was studying the pattern in the ceiling from my seat on the couch when he finally with a sigh put the newspaper in his hands down and rose.

"Well, I guess I'd better get the last things ready. I'll be back in an hour or so, so make sure to have your things ready on the porch by then." Having said this he then started to leave but paused at the door to give us all a glance.

"And don't cause any trouble while I'm gone, okay?" He smiled sweetly as he said this and though it wasn't particularly specific, I knew the comment was directed at me. I scowled and flashed him a look that clearly stated him to shut his trap or risk a new book assault. A flash of a toothy grin later and he was out of sight.

Glancing at the clock to estimate his time of arrival back in the house, I then stood and rolled my shoulders lightly. And then I turned to Yuki who remained seated at the table with the papers still in his hand and a pen in his other. He had been studying ever since he swallowed the last piece of his breakfast and had mostly ignored Shigure who had been watching him from behind his newspaper.

I stared at him for several minutes, waiting for an excuse to speak to him. But he calmly continued to study as though I wasn't 2 metres away staring at him. A hand on my arm had me turning and I saw Tohru look up at me before she whispered with a hand covering her mouth.

"Please Kyo, don't fight."

"I wasn't going to." I protested in a murmur but still gave Yuki a narrow glance before I returned my gaze to the brunette.

"Your eyes are fixated on him, it's a bit scary." She told me and I frowned before I averted my gaze.

"I won't fight him... right now" I added the last for I didn't want to say something she could take as a promise, and certainly not something like not fighting the other boy. I had no intention of fighting him right now, I'd resolved not to until he was back with his old behaviour.

At least not fight seriously.

I mean, who'd want to fight someone that gets taken down by a rough tackle? He wasn't going to be much of a challenge if he couldn't even avoid _that_. If I was going to beat him, he was going to be at his peak and I would have several of the other Sohmas' as witnesses of Yuki's grand defeat.

...

It wasn't fair! How dared he just unlearn his fighting skills like that! He should be coolheaded, strong and close to unbeatable! I growled and narrowed my eyes.

"Kyo..." Tohru pleaded and I snapped my gaze away from where it had fixated on Yuki again and I shrugged at her in response, pushing my irritation away and forcing a level-headed response.

"What? I told I wouldn't; there's nothing to worry about." I still sounded snappish.

"Please stop staring." She responded and I huffed before I turned and headed out of the room. I might as well bring my bags down.

My initial plan to confront Yuki had been pushed away by Shigure in the morning and when it got back, Tohru got in the way. Damn, she could be a better watchdog than the freaking mutt who was the host for the dog spirit. That didn't say much, for the dog didn't really seem to be all that watchful of what happened, considering the thrashings his house received without his intervention.

"_I'm more aware of where you are during your free time than you would like to think."_

Okay, I admit that maybe I was underestimating the guy if I said he wasn't aware of things. But he'd let Yuki sneak out, so he wasn't as aware as he made himself sound. But still… No, I wouldn't keep thinking along those tracks.

Shaking disturbing thoughts from my mind I took my bag and checked it through once more before I headed down to the porch where I left it. Then I headed back to my room and made my way over to the roof. I could easily have gotten up there from the ground, but it was the absolute easiest from my room. I wonder why that was…

I had my suspicions but I didn't dwell deeper into those thoughts. It was disturbing enough that the lazy owner of the house had started to act like a real adult; I'd very much do without conspiracy theories that he'd planned everything ahead.

* * *

Time moved on pretty quickly and so it came to be that I sat up at the sound of a car engine about half an hour later. A black car that I didn't recognize stopped right outside and soon the driver emerged and I blinked in surprise when the dog was the one to exit the driver's seat.

"Tohru~! Kyo~! Yuki~!" He called out and I slid own the tiles and was almost at the edge of the roof when I changed my mind and scrambled back to my room to take the indoor way. I didn't want to risk falling down as ungracefully as I did before, especially since I'd have an audience this time.

When I got down to the porch, both Tohru and Yuki were already there. Shigure stood leaning casually against the car, his hair smoothed back and a slightly smug look on his face.

"There you are Kyo! We were waiting for you!" He said and pushed away from the car, and I rolled my eyes as he casually straightened his clothes which had somewhere during his absence changed into a white shirt and sleek black pants.

"I didn't know you could drive" Yuki said, his head cocked to the side slightly as he examined the vehicle. Shigure smiled and jumped to the chance of bragging. I vainly wished Yuki had kept silent.

"Of course I know how to drive! It's essential knowledge for a bachelor. Though I don't get to use it often as it would ruin my novelist image." He sighed dramatically and I took note that I wasn't the only one exasperated by his speech. Yuki even gave me a pointed look before he rolled his eyes at the dog, something that I had never expected him to do.

"Whatever. Are we leaving or what?" I put my hand at my hip and scowled as I said this and Shigure gave me a pouty look.

"Fine, crush the old man's pride; he's as good as dead anyway." He sniffed and Tohru jumped in surprise before looking worriedly between us, obviously fooled by the dog's charade. He dramatically hid his eyes behind a hand, managing a tired and disappointed stance that had Tohru fretting, but I caught sight of a dark eye glancing at me. Mock laughter was seen there and I huffed at the glint in his eye, promptly deciding it was too much of a hassle and I would not entertain him by getting dragged into his game.

Turning my back on him I picked up my bag and put it away in the back of the car. I nearly collided with Yuki when I turned around again, but we both backed away reflexively and he went past me to put his own things away.

Shigure seemed to have given up his act and reassured Tohru that he would "survive" and finally after a bit of last minute packing we were on our way. Yuki sat in the front beside Shigure who casually held one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting against the car door while I sat in the back beside Tohru.

She kept her gaze focused on the scenery outside and so did Yuki. Silence filled the space until Shigure turned on the radio, and after a bit of a fight about which channel to have it on we all settled down again for the rest of the ride.

* * *

A/N: Lots of stuff happening IRL, but next update should still be done soon. I'm uncertain about this chapter, hearing your thoughts would be nice.


	6. Family

A/N: The summer house is constructed from my head, since I really don't know how it looks. And this chapter killed me a little.

* * *

-:YUKI'S POV:-

It was calming, the silence that reigned in the cramped space. The radio blared softly and outside the window the scenery changed from the bustling of the city streets to wood and grasslands. Everyone was lost in their individual thoughts, myself included, something I was grateful for.

A lot had been happening recently and to be completely honest with myself, I was exhausted. The argument with Shigure yesterday and the reconciliation that followed had me thinking, a lot.

Mostly about the current situation, but I had also reminisced about old memories. Shigure had dropped pretences and acted in a way that was easy for me to understand during our talk. He tried to listen to me, and hearing myself talk -while not on the defensive- made me realize my reasoning's didn't really make sense.

His arguments on the other hand, made sense. He obviously expected things from me that I did not give. And if it was all just a game, none of them would be so uptight about it.

Yet, I didn't believe them because I couldn't remember what I was supposed to have forgotten? That's just plain illogical. I'm being unreasonable, aren't I? Letting my eyes slide down half-mast, I gave a soft sigh.

The reason I wasn't accepting it was that it was frightening. I didn't want them to be right... And as long as they couldn't prove it, everything would be fine. It's selfish, but I don't care. I feel like indulging for some reason...

I don't know when it happened, but somewhere between then and now I had fallen asleep. I was gently woken by a hand on my shoulder, softly shaking me. Opening my eyes I found Shigure looking back at me and I gave him a nod that I was awake before I leaned back and rubbed my eyes tiredly. My neck felt stiff and I rubbed it as well before I sighed and got out of the car.

A strong wind greeted me and looking up at the sky I noticed that it was littered with clouds. It would be raining come evening, most likely. Looking around I also noticed that Kyo and Tohru was nowhere in sight and I assumed that they must have already headed inside. Which led me to look at the building.

The house was big. Modern mixed with older architecture, the modern part dominating so it was more of a modern house with certain classic elements like the wooden veranda that seemed to surround the house. Over all it was a bright and inviting place.

Shigure walked up to me while I admired the building.

"Your things have already been carried inside. Come, I'll show you to your room." I nodded at Shigure and then followed him inside. The inside looked nicely designed. Open areas without too many furniture. It was also bright and the air felt fresh.

After taking of our shoes we headed through the hall, en eventually up the stairs. Shigure chattered lightly as we walked and he pointed out rooms and their uses without seeming to do so. He weaved them into his stories and it took me some time to realize what he was doing. I couldn't help the lopsided smile that followed the realization.

That sly bastard.

"And here is your room. I put Kyo further down the hall and Tohru is on the lower floor. I will be just down the hall as well, so don't hesitate should you have a nightmare! I'll be there for you!" He grinned at me with a thumb-up gesture and I narrowed my eyes at him before shoving him out of the way.

"As if that would happen." I grumbled and then entered the room to see how it looked. The curtains were drawn and so I headed over and drew them back, allowing the pale light of the day inside. It was in the same design as the rest of the house. Light and airy with furniture consisting of a bed, desk with a chair, a drawer and a bookcase.

My bag was beside the bed and I picked it up and put it on the desk before I started to sort my things, expecting Shigure to leave. I heard him close the door and was thus left alone. I unpacked my bags, putting my clothes away and exploring every nook and crane of the room more closely.

When I was done with my check I decided to see if that girl, Honda-san, was done with the food yet. I headed out the room and went downstairs, heading for the kitchen. I seemed to come just at the right time. Honda-san was putting out the dishes and Shigure was just about to seat himself when I came in.

I seated myself beside him, hoping to avoid sitting beside any of the strangers and yawned softly. I should take a walk once I've eaten. If I don't do something I think I'll just fall asleep again...

I lifted my gaze as I heard footsteps and saw my cousin enter, his gaze fleetingly meeting mine before they sternly turned away. Okay, that guy clearly had a problem, and judging by the nasty glares on an off, he had one with me.

I didn't get to think too much about it after that though, since the food was finally put before us and I decided to dig in. Halfway through the meal, Shigure spoke up.

"Oh, right. Hatori and Ayame will be arriving later this evening." He said this as though he'd just thought of it and I didn't mind it. Kyo on the other hand...

"What? Why are you dragging that damned snake here?" He screamed and I grimaced at the loud sound. And what was with the snake thing?

"Why not? Ayame is longing to meet his little brother again, and who am I to deny him?" Shigure answered happily which seemed to tick of the orange haired boy across the table.

"You're a moron _not_ to deny him! None of us wants that damn snake here, he's creepy!" I scowled at him when I heard this. Did he just call my brother a creepy snake?

"Speak for yourself." I told him between bites and instantly felt several pairs of eyes on me.

"What?" Kyo asked and I swallowed the food I had in my mouth before I answered.

"I told you to speak for yourself. I don't remember making you my spokesman; I can very well speak my own opinions, and I for one wouldn't mind meeting Ayame nii-san." This seriously had the boy's eyes standing out of their sockets. Of all the surprised looks I'd seen on his face before, this one definitely topped the list.

"What? Come on, you used to hate the guys guts!" He exclaimed in outrage and I put a hand over my ear, grimacing once more. Was he even aware of how loud he was? Feeling stingy I said the first words that came to mind.

"Well too bad for you, I don't remember hating him." I said this with a taunting note to my voice and heard his teeth clack as he snapped his mouth shut. Shigure gave me an appraising look before he shook his head.

"Now now, calm down you two. I don't want you thrashing the house in a fight. Why don't we finish the food Tohru have been so kind as to make and take a walk afterwards?" He smiled and I agreed easily with him. I didn't feel like arguing, and besides, I had better things to think about than insults to match the ones thrown by Kyo.

Kyo muttered something about the weather about to be nasty and then shut up. I didn't pay any mind to what he said, my thoughts caught onto something he said before that.

Had I hated Ayame? I hadn't really thought about my brother before Kyo mentioned him. He visited me recently, but I had only seen him briefly...

And thinking back I realized I didn't have many memories containing him. Nor my parents. It was all pretty vague. Wait... I lived at Shigure's, and had for a while. I lived separately from my brother... Did something happen to my parents? Or was the family situation bad? No... wait... why don't I know these things? That is relevant information!

"Yuki, is everything alright?"

"Huh?" I was startled from my thoughts and saw the worried gaze sent my way.

"You're looking a bit pale, so I wondered if there was something wrong." Shigure clarified. I swallowed thickly and put my bowl down. My throat felt like it had closed up and my stomach was churning. _I feel sick..._

"I'm fine. But I think I need some fresh air."Without waiting for a reaction I rose and left, quickly making my way to the front door and out onto the veranda. I followed the wooden path until I was out of sight from the door and then sighed and leaned against the railing.

The thoughts from before haunted me and I leaned my head against my arms and closed my eyes, taking a moment to breath before trying to get them straight.

My family... Kyo was my cousin... Shigure was my cousin... we lived the same house. Shigure's house. Why didn't Kyo live with his own family? Why didn't I live with mine? Why did Kyo say I hated my brother?

No... I almost think I know why. Some of the memories I have of him, I acted coldly against him. He was loud and cheerful though... it may just be the way we communicate. So that wasn't any trouble.

Yet a cold weight settled in my stomach the longer my thoughts lingered on the rest of my family. My mother... I can barely remember her face. My father... I don't know. I just don't know.

_I don't know!_

I gritted my teeth in frustration, biting down the urge to... to... I didn't even know what I wanted. Destroy something maybe. Either way I quickly restrained the feeling and pushed it away, pushing away all troubling thoughts until my mind was blank.

Raising my head I looked out at the landscape. Rolling hills covered in grass. Forrest, flowers, the wind blowing. It was beautiful.

_See, there was nothing to worry about._

Convinced that life was good I took a few deep breaths and felt an easy smile form. Much lighter on heart and foot, I took of my socks and jumped down onto the grass, comfortably strolling across the grassy hill, the gathering clouds overhead momentarily forgotten.

-:KYO'S POV:-

Okay, seriously, Yuki better get a grip soon! He freaking said he _doesn't _dislike Ayame and he called him Ayame _nii-san_ for god's sake! I averted my gaze from the aggravating boy and stabbed my food a little with the chopsticks. I didn't pay any attention to the other occupants of the table before Shigure spoke up in a voice laced with concern.

"Yuki, is everything alright?" When Shigure asked this I snapped my gaze back at the rat and saw him jump a little at being spoken to.

"Huh?"

"You're looking a bit pale, so I wondered if there was something wrong." The dog was right; Yuki was white as a sheet. What the heck is wrong with him now? The rat just put his bowl down and after saying he was fine he excused himself and practically ran out of the room.

Shigure looked like he was about to follow, halfway risen from his chair, but he seemingly changed his mind and sat down again. Resuming his eating he still cast glances at the door way. I huffed a little before I also resumed eating.

Finishing of my plate I offered to help Tohru with the dishes but she hastily said she would take care of it and something in her expression told me she desperately wanted to do it alone. Thinking back on her earlier behaviour I assumed she simply wanted to stay busy with something to keep her thoughts off the situation.

Well, each man to their own. Or maybe I should say person...

Bah, whatever.

Putting my hands in my pockets I headed out on the veranda. The air was getting heavier and I could already tell it would be raining in a matter of hours. It was a disgruntling thought for I absolutely wasn't rain compatible. The only thing to do during rainy days was staying inside and trying to ignore the sticky air.

Grimacing at the gathering clouds I turned on my heel and returned inside. From the front door I headed to the living room and flopped down on the couch there, flipping on the TV to see if there was anything worth watching.

I don't know how much later it was, but I had watched the end of some soap opera and watched another one that came after where a guy was getting into trouble at work and hell broke loose with his family visiting. He had to go shopping and then cook dinner which ended up on the floor after a food fight broke loose and, well, I got about that far when Shigure entered and interrupted.

"Kyo, have you seen Yuki?" Shigure sounded slightly exasperated and I couldn't help but cast a glance at him. Seeing the slightly aggravated look on his face confirmed it; he was most certainly a bit miffed at Yuki for running off in the middle of lunch. I returned my gaze to the TV.

"Why should I?" I answered in a bored tone, not caring if I only further annoyed him.

"Well I don't know. I just thought you might." He grumbled and left again. I continued watching my program but was disturbed once more just a matter of minutes later.

"Kyo, are you certain you haven't seen Yuki?" Shigure asked, his voice a little bit higher than before and equally more annoying.

"I would have told you the first time you asked if I had." I answered and increased the volume on the TV a little. But the remote was suddenly snatched from my hand and in the blink of an eye the TV was shut off and Shigure stood before me, his mouth in a flat line.

"I need you to help looking for him. He's nowhere to be found in the house and I just found his sock out on the veranda."

"What does that have to do with anything?" What about him dropping his socks on the veranda? Seriously, what the heck?

"That means he's left barefooted and the weather is getting worse. Use your head and think a little!" I was a bit upset at that comment. It was completely uncalled for! But it was only now that I managed to catch the worry that laced his voice. The way he brought a hand to his mouth and absentmindedly gnawed a little on his thumbnail only furthered my suspicions and I felt myself grow edgy.

_Damn, I haven't seen the dog this distraught before._

Looking up at him for a moment more i then sighed in resignation.

"Fine, I'll go looking for him. You'd better thank me later" I grumbled and then headed out, taking on my shoes and exiting the house.

The wind had picked up and it smelled of rain already. I wrinkled my nose in disgust and then jumped down on the ground and traced the veranda to see if I could find any traces. I found none. Muttering under my breath about a certain rat's stupidity I turned around.

Climbing up on the veranda was easy. Taking myself from the veranda to the first roof was harder, but I managed. From there I scanned the surrounding area, careful with where I put my feet. I wasn't completely used to this roof yet and it was steeper than the one at home.

From my perch on top of the roof I still didn't catch sight of him. Not being in sight of the house made this a hell of a lot more annoying. He could be freaking anywhere! Scowling I carefully made my way down from the roof again and almost crashed into Shigure.

"No luck?" He asked and I shook my head.

"Geez, it's only been a few minutes since I started. Take it easy will you?" I said, feeling my annoyance growing steadily.

"Yeah yeah" He said and then walked away from me, walking inside. He wasn't even going to look himself? I went inside to give him a piece of my mind but found him by the phone.

"Oh, hey Ayame It's Shigure. No, quiet, can you give the phone to Hatori? I don't care if he's driving, it's important. Yuki decided to go for an unannounced walk. Yes, that's the problem. I've checked. No, Kyo is out looking. Mm, okay. Aha, well, I'll call you once I have any news. Yes, of course Hatori. Hmm? You don't say; I can hear him."

Listening in to the conversation I admitted that I didn't have any reason to be angry at him for going inside. Another hasty judgement. I'd better get outside looking again before he finds me eavesdropping though.

I turned around and was about to exit the door again when the door opened and Yuki entered. A couple of wet marks on his shoulders and droplets on his hair let me know the rain had started, but it seemed like he got back before the worst broke loose. That wasn't what I thought about though. I was damn irritated!

"Where the fuck have you been?" I asked loudly and my silver haired cousin looked up at me.

"I was out on a walk. Not that it should matter to you."

"It matters when I get forced out looking for you." I growled back and he shrugged in an unapologetic manner before he leaned down while lifting one of his feet, dusting it off before he did the same with the other. Then he straightened and walked past me, our shoulders bumping slightly.

"Oh, there you are Yuki!" Shigure exclaimed and I scowled. He wasn't even going to get angry?

"Please don't make us worry like that again. I thought I told you to tell someone before you leave." A very mild reprimand, that was all? I continued to scowl as I followed their conversation.

"I did say I needed some air." Yuki said matter-of-factly.

"You didn't say you would leave the house." Shigure pointed out in a sweet tone, obviously irked.

"I didn't think it was necessary. It's not like I was gone for that long. It's only been what? 2 hours?"

"It's closer to 3, but anything could have happened during that time. And you certainly shouldn't have gone out without shoes. And you should have taken a jacket; look! You're soaked!"

Yuki looked at his water stained shoulders.

"This? It's just a little wet. It's only just started to fall outside. My feet are a bit cold and dirty though so I would very much like to take a shower."

"Fine, but we'll speak after that, alright? Now I have to call and tell your brother you're back so he doesn't have a fit or something." Shigure grumbled a bit but didn't sound all that angry.

Then they both went their own ways and I was left standing were I was, fuming. Not only did Yuki get away with a totally selfish act – _again_ – but I also didn't get any recognition for looking for him. A simple _thank you_ shouldn't be too much to ask for, right? _Right?_

Without intending to, they had ignited my famous temper. Fuck what the dog may say about it! Yuki was going to get an earful!

I started to stomp angrily after the rat and was almost up the stairs when I realized something. Yuki was most likely in the shower. You didn't attack people in showers. I would _not_ do that, no matter _how_ angry I was.

My anger doused as though a water bucket had been emptied on top of my head, I stopped midstride and returned downstairs, reclaiming my spot on the couch. Flipping the TV on, I scowled irritably over the fact that I had missed the ending to the show. Now I wouldn't know if the guy went through with duck taping his brother as revenge for the ruined carpet or if he actually flooded his boss' office.

Damn rat and his stupid amnesia. He surely did it all on purpose, just so he could fuck with everybody. Well, we'd see about that.

Thinking dark thoughts, I changed channel, looking for something befitting my new mood.

-:YUKI'S POV:-

Aaaah, what a nice shower. I was a tiny bit more chilled than I had thought; something I noticed the moment my clothes came off and the hot spray hit my body. I spent a good 15 minutes in the shower before I exited and wrapped in a towel hurried back to my room, locking the door behind me.

I dropped the towel then and shivered at the chill before I started to rummage through the drawer where I'd put my clothes away earlier. I had wanted a shower so badly I had even forgotten a change of clothes, thus my little run in the hallway.

I hurried and put on a pair of boxers and they were followed by a pair of loose pants and a shirt over the top of my body was followed up by a grey sweatshirt. I had no idea when it had gotten this cold, but somehow it had and I'd have to deal with it.

Dressed decently I picked the towel up from the floor and put it away in the basket for clothes to wash. Then I decided to head down. Shigure had said he still had things to talk about and strangely enough I didn't mind.

Sometime during my walk, most likely when I hit my foot against a stone, I realized the walk hadn't been all that thought through. It had been a nice walk though and I felt much better now.

Walking down the stairs I shivered as a droplet from my hair slid down my neck. Damn, I should have dried my hair properly.

Shigure sat in the kitchen and I sat down on a chair close to him.

"Sorry" I said before he had the time to say anything and he gave me a considering look before he shrugged it off.

"Its fine, I just don't want it to happen again. You must realize that it is quite stressful to have you disappear."

"I realize"

"Good. Well, some other good news is that your brother isn't hysterical anymore. He's ecstatic instead. He will be here a bit earlier than anticipated, around dinner actually."

"Okay, have you told Honda-san?"

"Oh, I thought I should tell you first. After all, I do think you deserve a warning ahead of time so you don't get crushed by Ayame's famous hugs when he comes flying through the door."

"Thanks, I guess."

"Now I'm off to tell cute little Tohru about it!" He jumped up happily from his chair and started to almost bounce out the door. He turned back to look at me from the door and I was quite certain a look of disbelief and poorly hidden horror graced my features, for he slapped his forehead and pointed his finger at me in an accusing manner.

"Don't get any dumb ideas! She is a sweet girl, but I'm _not_ into that!"

"Of course" I answered but kept up a wary expression. He continued to glare at me for some time before he left, muttering something that sounded like "kids these days" and something about "that idiot brother of his" as well as "teach him a lesson". After that, I was unable to catch his muttering and reset my expression to a normal, slightly bored one.

I didn't really have much to do now. It was still some time before dinner and I had no idea what to do. Rather than staring into space I finally decided to go back upstairs to my room. I had my diary with me as well as some school material, so if nothing else I could keep myself occupied, if not amused.

* * *

Maybe an hour and a half or so had passed when I heard a commotion downstairs. I had spent the time reviewing my schoolwork, accompanied by the muted sound of rain hitting glass and the wind blowing outside, so the moment I heard the door open downstairs accompanied by voices being raised, I returned from my own little world.

I rose from the chair I occupied and after putting away my pen and stuff I opened the door and went downstairs. At the base of the stairs I could clearly discern my brother's voice and I stopped in my tracks.

"_... you used to hate that guys guts!" _

I had pushed those thoughts away before, but now I would have to face them wouldn't I? I knew for a fact that I didn't hate him. I did now that much at least. I liked him enough to protect him from Kyo's insults; I guess that meant something as well.

But I obviously didn't care enough to live with him.

I felt a small jab at my heart and swallowed, suddenly very much at unease. Every time my thoughts drifted to my relationship to the family, I would get these feelings. There must be something...

No, no, no, _no_!

There is nothing wrong. I'm fine. I'm _normal_! I forced the panic down again and after taking a deep breath, put on a small smile before I went the last step down and headed over to the kitchen where I could hear the voices coming from.

Stopping in the doorway watching the back of my brother and Hatori-san, I kept the smile up and greeted them.

"Welcome, Ayame-nii, Hatori-san." The two of them, including Shigure who most likely greeted them at the door, turned to me and it didn't take long for Ayame to throw himself at me in a flurry of silver hair and red cloth.

"Ah, my darling brother Yuki! It's a pleasure for your honourable brother to finally meet you!" He boomed happily in my ear and I felt a chuckle escape me.

"What's with that 'honourable brother'? It sounds weird. A simple hello would do." I told him, pushing lightly at him in hopes of making him let go. No such luck, but I didn't have the heart to push him away right then. It felt kind of nice to be hugged.

_He cares for me..._

"Ah, what a beautiful scene. It's so... touching." Shigure said, his voice quivering as though he was on the verge of crying. I looked at him from over Ayame's shoulder and saw that he was rather just barely holding back his laughter.

"It's a rather... peculiar sight." Hatori corrected and I felt my smile falter slightly before I caught the slip and put it back in full force, putting more effort in prying my brother from me before I was suffocated.

"What the fuck!" I blinked in surprise at the high sound and felt how Ayame released his hug but remained close so we still touched before we both turned to look for the source.

Kyo was standing in a very comic stance, pointing at the two of us with a shaking finger while stuttering nonsensically.

"What's wrong with _him_?" I mutter while looking at the practically hissing teen.

"Don't mind him; he's just going through a phase." Shigure answered and I gave him a disbelieving look before I shrugged and turned back to Ayame.

"It's nice to see you either way." Then after contemplating whether to or not to, I gave him a quick hug and disappeared up the stairs again, embarrassed.

My cheeks felt heated and I leaned against the door, wondering about the meeting before. Ayame had seemed so happy to see me. He really did care for me.

_But what about my parents?_

I felt that jab at my heart again, but leaning my head against the closed door, I could hear a happy squeal followed by loud exclamations. Ayame nii-san. He sounded so happy, and I realized it didn't matter for now how my family was. I had my brother who loved me and Shigure who I could trust if need be.

I didn't care if I'd forgotten about my mother and father, nor if I used to know Kyo and Honda-san. I didn't care as long as I had someone who cared for me.

If this peace could hold, I wouldn't mind being amnesic...

* * *

A/N: School is out now and it's bittersweet. I will miss my friends. But the worst thing is that my mom ruined the day for me. I was super happy about my grades and stuff but when I got home to show her, she didn't have the energy to even care. So I'm an emotional wreck at the moment instead of happy and I'm leaving to visit my sister so mom won't notice that I'm crying.

Reviews would be most welcome. Just anything to take my mind of things and bring back my inspiration. Thank you.


	7. Responsibilities

A/N: Life's been an emotional roller coaster. I hate roller coasters. But I'm up and about and as happy as I usually am! Thank you to all the nice reviewers! And of course I thank those who faved and alerted me or this story as well! ;)

Reminder: Qué sera, sera = What will be, will be.

And only read through once after completion for correction, so beware of the unholy mistakes!

* * *

-:SHIGURE'S POV:-

Now that had been surprising. In all my 27 years, I had not seen Yuki allow Ayame to hug him. And for him to do so with a smile and even _return_ the hug? It had been priceless. He even blushed and ran away like a little schoolgirl after that, and I think it took Ayame a total of 15 seconds to realize what had happened before he exploded with a happy squeal and started to bounce up and down, exclaiming his happiness to Hatori.

"Tori-san, Tori-san! Did you see that? My cute little Yuki hugged me! _Me!_ Ah, now I can finally die happy!" He exclaimed and wrapped his arms around himself as if to hug the place Yuki had.

"Isn't that good for you." I said with a smile, catching the look coming from Hatori seemingly saying "_Don't encourage him_".

Chuckling I turned to gaze at Kyo, or rather, where he had been a few seconds ago. When did he disappear from there? I cocked my head to the side and contemplated this for a moment in silence, seeing as Ayame was lost in la-la-land and Hatori was busy attempting to douse the man's overly bright mood.

I closed my eyes and after tuning out Ayame, I managed to catch the sound of repetitive stomps. Ah, so Kyo had returned to the living room… walking in circles? As long as he leaves Yuki alone, that's fine I guess.

"Shigure, could you be as kind as to give me a hand?" Hatori's normally flat voice was spiced with a tint of irritation and when I only gave him a, completely faked, oblivious look he sighed and smacked Ayame on the head.

"Ouch! Tori-san, what was that for?" The silver haired Sohma wailed sulkily, and before they could start squabbling like a bunch of old ladies I interrupted, smoothly, if I say it myself.

"Now now, Ayame. I have a brilliant idea. Why don't you bring your things upstairs? I left the room to the right of Yuki's alone for your use." Ayame seemingly miraculously recovered and happily bounced away to bring his things inside.

"I never understand how you do that." Hatori mumbled and I smiled smugly while giving a pose.

"It's all about directing the energy."

Hatori gave me a flat look that I assumed was meant to be incredulous and, well, flat. I've never said anything about being good at reading this fella, have I?

* * *

After spending a good half an hour getting the two visitors settled down in their rooms, as well as after the pleasantries exchanged between them and Tohru as they crossed paths which took another 15 minutes, and then waiting a tiny bit longer, simply chattering the time away, it was finally dinner time.

And I must say that I was surprised that we even got as far as to get seated without a fight. Kyo didn't look at either Yuki or Ayame, which suited me fine as I didn't have to use the "evil eye" on him to make him stop.

Ayame had shown an incredible amount of self-restraint and simply smiled happily when Yuki got down, though Hatori's hand firmly attached to his shoulder could have been to thank for that.

The dinner may have been the very first _normal_ dinner with this many zodiacs gathered. Small chattering about non-consequential things flowed easily, falling away at times in favor of eating before it once more came back. I don't think I had to divert people's attention with a sly or perverted remark even once.

And that says something.

I kept close watch just in case and when the children started to set down their plates I decided it was way past the time to come up with something to occupy them with. I thought quickly seeing as Kyo was already rising from his chair and opened my mouth before I had a real plan in mind.

As I usually say, qué será, será.

"Kyo, why don't you see if any movies remain here from last year?" After freezing momentarily he gave me look asking why he had to do that and I just smiled cheerfully.

"Hatori, Ayame and I won't be able to entertain you tonight, so I thought a movie could do the trick." Oh that sounded so wrong when I put it in words. It seems like I couldn't keep all of that perverseness bottled up. Some slunk out without my consent.

Oh well, no harm done.

"I'm not in the mood to watch a movie." Kyo stated with a sour look and I was once more forced to speak without thinking, which may be good as part of me was internally laughing at the "mood" as a part of me referred it to my earlier comment.

"Well, what do you feel like doing then, _Kyo-kun_?" I added a small singsong tune to his name and he scrunched up his nose at it.

"Nothing" He grumbled after a short moment of silence.

"Nothing?" I repeated, knowing it would irritate him further. If he didn't want to watch a movie, perhaps I could annoy him enough to shut himself in his room for the rest of the evening, which was much more effective than telling him to go there as it would be his own choice and he couldn't complain later.

But my plan was shot down.

"If he doesn't want to be social, that's his choice isn't it? So stop bothering him; people are trying to eat." Yuki truly was full of surprises today. First he acts like a true brother to Ayame, and now he went and protected Kyo. He's turned soft with his memory loss.

Surprised as I was, it took me a moment to catch myself and turn my gaze to gauge the other's reactions, mostly Kyo's.

Kyo was at the moment giving Yuki a look full of suspicion and Yuki answered it by shrugging before putting the last piece of fish in his mouth, chewing slowly. Looking back at Kyo, I was slightly concerned that for once, I could not read what he felt. And that was bad as he was worse than an open book; he was a widescreen TV with moving pictures and big subtitles when it came to his emotions.

He didn't have many "channels" either. Angry, disgusted, embarrassed, killed by leek, confident, itching for a fight, beat up and sulking. Which in-fact were basically just different facets of angry. But then there was that blank look he wore now… and that couldn't be called anything other than standby, could it?

Oh this is getting ridiculous.

"I don't need you to speak for me." Kyo finally grumbled and then took his plate away. A moment later he passed through the room again on his way to the stairs. And thus, with my target gone and mission actually accomplished, although not in the way I had expected, I shifted my studious gaze to the ones remaining.

Yuki looked a little thoughtful, chewing his food slowly, actually looking very much like the rat he was bonded with. My, what a cute pet he would make. Especially with a cute little ribbon around his neck and we could get him a hamster wheel and...

Aaaah, time to change channel. I must be really amusement deprived. Back to the present, back to the present.

Okay, Tohru was looking genuinely surprised by the exchange and Ayame shared her close to dumbfounded expression. Hatori was as calm as ever, his sharp gaze collecting information very much like my own was.

Our gazes actually met for a moment, or at least I thoughts so but his visible eye almost instantly slipped away from my form, travelling back to Yuki where it remained.

"Thanks for the food." Yuki said neutrally as he rose and Tohru flashed him a bright smile before instantly starting to degrade herself, saying it was nothing special and the like, effectively though unintentionally, bringing a small twitch to the side of Yuki's mouth. Whether it was annoyance or a smile held back was a hard thing to guess, but it was something I idly pondered while I waited for the children to get out.

It took a considering amount of time to achieve this. Assuring Tohru that we would take care of the rest when we were done, insisting that they take their time and have fun, and of course playfully saying that their fun had to be strictly decent. This earned me a very strong look of distaste from Yuki, which went unnoticed by Tohru as she gave me a clueless look. The innocence of youth!

...

That… doesn't work here, especially considering Yuki and Kyo is the same age and they aren't as innocent. Or as naive.

Really, I must refill my vocabulary or I'll end up like a comedian out of jokes… That's also a bad metaphor… No! I'm losing my touch!

Though this mental debate continued to rage, nothing but a goofy grin showed on my face. When the children had finally trotted out of the room, and I had calmed my thoughts down my promising myself to watch comedy series the first chance I had, I clapped my hands to earn the attention of the two left.

"Well, how about we put some things away before we talk? Ayame, do remain seated. I would rather let Yuki loose in the kitchen than you, and he is a natural disaster on two legs."

"Ah, you wound me 'Gure! Piercing my heart, my weakness!" He exclaimed dramatically and clutched at his chest, his expression a mask of pain, so obviously faked I just had to play along.

"My dear Aya, you know it is not my intention to harm. I could just never forgive myself should you hurt yourself." I leaned forward and clasped his hand in mine, giving him my best "devoted knight" look. And I could almost see, almost _feel_ the sparkly atmosphere and flowers you'd see in a teenage girl comic start to surround us.

"'Gure!" Ayame said, his eyes sparkling beneath long lashes. He leaned forward and I did the same…

"Cut it out you two." Hatori interrupted just like planned and we two mischievous little wannabe-actors grinned at each other before we burst into action, moved onto the next act with perfect coordination.

"Ah, Ha-san! My deepest apologies! It was never my intention to make you feel left out! Come here, I'll take good ca-!" A smack to the head that stung a lot later, and the act was completed with Ayame being ordered to sit in that chair and don't move a muscle.

I couldn't help but smile wickedly at that, as not moving a muscle would in reality mean death, so seen in a different light he told Ayame to go and die. The twisted ways of a man's mind is truly fascinating.

"Stop grinning like a fool and give me a hand." Hatori said, already working on plucking dishes. This caused me to snort as my thoughts still were a bit morbid, but I rose and helped dispose of the dishes. By the time the table was clean, I had calmed down considerably, having gotten some of my perverseness, mischievousness and the like out of my system.

Now it was time for the serious adult to emerge again, no matter how tedious it was so remain serious.

"Well, shall we get this over with?" I asked, seating myself and leaning back in my chair.

"Have you spoken any with Yuki?" Hatori asked in response and I nodded.

"I managed to tick him off the first time and the next time I barely had the chance to ask any questions as I had to calm him."

"Just what did you do to tick him off?" Hatori raised a inquisitive brow at me and I snorted before I began elaborately explaining.

"That is a very good question, one I myself have pondered. I thought of it not only right after he stormed off, but also the next morning and-"

"Just answer the question Shigure." Hatori interrupted tiredly and I gave.

"I may have been a bit pushy. And stuff. Either way, Yuki firmly believes he hasn't lost his memories. It seems like he's waiting for some grand déjà vu feeling or something to tell him he's wrong."

"That's problematic." The doctor said evenly, his choice of words so wonderfully vague that I just had to laugh.

"It is, isn't it." I replied dryly and then put my elbow on the table, resting my chin in the palm of my hand.

"Either way, I told him I'd simply have to prove it to him then and he agreed on that. That is basically what I learned from the conversation."

"I do hope you don't expect me to believe you didn't learn anything else in a week's time."

"Well, I may have reached a few conclusions based on speculations, but I thought you hated when I did that without facts?" I moved my hand beneath my chin, the point finger placed alongside my lower lip, the thumb resting against my cheek and the rest of my hand supporting my head from beneath my chin, causing a thoughtful expression on my face as my eyes sought Hatori's.

He met my gaze unerringly even, and I was the one to give in. Sighing and shaking my head as well as shoulders to indicate my resignation I revealed what I had gathered.

"He's forgotten about Akito, the main house, Kyo and Tohru. Also, his memories are at least partially gone concerning Ayame as he doesn't appear to hate him. So most likely his childhood has been mostly forgotten. Considering how it wasn't exactly all pleasant memories, I can understand he wouldn't grieve losing them, but I have no idea what could have happened."

"He didn't show any sign of head trauma when I examined him." Hatori filled in and I nodded.

"So I have no idea what could have caused that reaction. He collapsed on the way back, so maybe he had a fright of some kind and rushed back. If he did he could have exhausted himself resulting in the collapse. Could those two together cause the memory loss?"

"Well, in theory it may be possible." Hatori admitted carefully, but I got the feeling of things left unsaid and raised a curious brow.

"But?" I queried.

"But I can't see what could frighten him to that extent." Well, that was a well crafted lie. We both knew things that could frighten the boy, but I guess he didn't consider those things as options. But practically speaking the idea of those things happening was outrageous, so I wouldn't count on them either.

"Ah, point. Hmm, well then I have no more smart speculations concerning the cause."

"I have no speculations to add." Hatori said and I nodded, deciding to move on to the next topic.

"About his behavior, I'd say it's quite normal. He's not really acting like the Yuki we know, but the characteristics are there. I'm not certain, but I get this feeling that he's somehow… different. I don't know how to explain. Maybe you can do it better Hatori?"

"Well, considering the loss of memories from an early age, the change in behavior is simple to explain. As a person grows up, he or she adapts to the environment he or she live in and build defenses and defining traits. It's a survival mechanism meant to shape the individual to fit into society."

"A shorter and explanation would work just fine." I muttered and got a disapproving glare. Apologetic grin in place I asked him to continue.

"As I was about to say, the environment shapes the individual and if those early memories are lost, some of the behavior patterns may be lost with them. That he still holds on to some characteristics only proves to say that his memory is only partially lost."

"Can you repeat that in normal Japanese please?" I asked, and he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yuki's behavior is different because he's lost some of the memories that have formed him mentally."

"Thank you; that made much more sense. It wasn't that hard, was it?" I said teasingly.

"So my brother has changed behavior because he doesn't remember?" I turned to look at the snake, honestly surprised. He'd been so quiet I'd forgotten he was there!

"It seems so Aya, not that it should be that surprising..." I stopped at the look I received from him. He looked a little lost and I was once more reminded of the more subtle characteristics of the man. How careless of me to not take this into consideration! Of course would be upset about this whole ordeal, although it seemed to have resulted in a quick patch of the cleft between the two brothers I couldn't honestly believe he'd be happy about it.

"Will he ever return to… normal?" Ayame asked hesitantly and I had to wonder. I didn't have an answer but leaving the question hanging was bad. I turned to Hatori and saw the sympathetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry Ayame. With my experience, he… probably won't ever return to how he was. Big changes like this cause changes to the persona and they are often irreversible. It's just like a new experience; he changes according to the environment to fit in."

"I don't want Yuki to change!" Ayame childishly exclaimed and I cast a glance towards the still open door. Are we careless or what? Not only could the children hear us, but Ayame 's brother complex hadn't been taken into consideration either.

It was time for quick decisions and I made them reflexively.

Leaving Hatori to take care of Ayame, I left the room and closed the door behind me before I went to see where the children were. As quietly as I could, while not acting in a suspicious manner should they catch sight of me unaware, I headed down the hall to the living room. Tohru was seated in the couch, watching the television. Yuki sat a bit away, looking a bit bored with his arm thrown over the back of the couch; his head leaned in the crook of that arm.

They didn't appear to be concerned about the talk going on in the dining room and so I left again. For safeties sake I left to see where Kyo was as well. I headed up the stairs and placed myself close to the teens room, listening.

After a moment I heard a shift and soft grumbling from inside, and then a bang as though a fist or something connected with the wall. He was there and he sounded like he usually did on rainy days. That meant we'd have to keep him away from Yuki as I wasn't certain he'd be able to contain his temper.

Taking that thought with me I headed back down again, hoping Hatori had been able to speak to Ayame. The only reason people as seemingly unlikely to get along as us managed to get along, was that we complimented each other. Hatori was the best out of the two of us to handle Ayame's more emotional side, just as I was better at handling Hatori's.

Though it had been some time since I'd seen that part of him. It was, in fact, since the time he lost the love of his life. Before that day, he was broken about his decision, but afterwards, he was simply too high-strung to let himself be comforted.

That had never stopped me from trying when I saw him hurting though.

Opening the door now before me, I slipped inside and closed the door just as silently. Ayame was quiet, his usually energetic form subdued and I had to wonder just what Hatori had told him. I could delve deeper into that later, for now I had some pressing issues.

"Are we done discussing what's happened? In that case, I believe we should head on to what we should do from now on."

"I think we've covered the most essential topics apart from that. As for what we have to do now, I have a proposition."

"Let's hear it then." I was perhaps all too willing to go along with whatever plans he had but I didn't see any point in trying to formulate a plan of my own when someone with a doctor's degree could handle it better. Besides, I could and would make my own changes to the plans as it suited my purposes.

"First of all we must teach him about the zodiac curse and all that it implies. He'll need to be taught caution again before he can be turned out into school life again. I would also like to have private sessions with him to work on his amnesia. Otherwise we should treat him like normal to avoid further straying from his initial persona." He glanced at Ayame as he said this and Ayame nodded in agreement and I followed suit.

"That sounds like a sound plan. But who should talk to him?" This was obviously a point none wanted to even talk about. Hatori stayed silent and Ayame looked away, and me? I simply didn't feel up to taking care of _everything_. The responsibility should lay with his closest relative in my opinion. So Ayame should be the one to take care of that as the elder brother.

"Well, you are his guardian at the moment Shigure." Hatori said quietly, pointing out another view, one which I didn't like as much as my own.

"Well, that's true but Ayame is closer to him as family right?" I pointed out and looked at Ayame who wore a slightly ashamed look.

"I don't know how to speak to him." He admitted and Hatori backed him up.

"You have been the one closest to him amongst us for a long time. I think that particular duty should fall on you." I frowned.

"You are the doctor right? You should be the one to mess around with his head, not I."

"It's not messing you are supposed to do, it's educating."

"Well, see? I've already made a mistake so I'm clearly unsuitable for the job, right?" I couldn't help feeling a little smug about my quick wit, but whatever feeling I had about it was quickly replaced by a much heavier feeling.

"Can we stop bickering about it? It feels… _cruel_ to argue about who should help him just because no one is willing." Ayame's comment had us all falling silent. It was eerily true and I must admit that I felt a little bit ashamed at my behavior.

"I'm sorry Ayame." Hatori apologized and I seconded it with an apology of my own.

"Mm, but fine, I'll talk to him. But if it fails you'll have to do it okay?" Ayame was sounding a bit hurt and on the defensive and I realized I really only had the choice to go along with him if I wanted to keep our friendship intact.

"Of course."

"Good."

"We should all remain open for him to talk to." Hatori pointed out and we all agreed on that point.

"I will be there for him _this time for certain_." Ayame finally said, quietly but with conviction. I knew what he was referring to and smiled at him, glad that although he wasn't his normally enigmatic self, he was at least at a level I could take care of. Now, to direct his energy and drive him into action.

"Why don't you join Yuki and Tohru by the TV right away?" I suggested and his expression brightened.

"That's an absolutely fantastic idea 'Gure!" He exclaimed with a big smile that completely obliterated the previous look of unhappiness on his face, and I had to admit he was a better actor than I gave him credit for at times. That, or he was bi-polar. Wouldn't surprise me either way, but I abandoned those thoughts and watched with a fond smile as he bounced off.

"Do you think it was a good idea to send him off on his own like that?" I looked over at Hatori and thought about an answer for a moment. A grin plastered itself on my features in mere seconds.

"I've got no idea."

-:YUKI'S POV:-

After dinner I spent some time looking for the movies Shigure had talked about, conversing a little on and off with Honda-san. I found that it wasn't as bad as I'd thought it'd be, speaking to her. She hadn't done anything as of yet to get the label of worrywart and mother hen away, but she was nice enough to speak to as long as it didn't have anything to do with things that could be blamed on her.

Keeping the subjects light, I didn't have any trouble and I know it may sound sappy, but I realized that I had wanted to speak to someone about general things. Whenever I spoke to Shigure, which wasn't often to begin with, I always had this feeling that he was quietly comparing me with some mental image and it made me uncomfortable. And Kyo was seemingly out of the picture as he was pissed at me for some reason, which actually had me wondering quite a lot about him.

But either way, the best thing with speaking to this dimwit of a girl was that she didn't bring up subjects I wished to avoid.

Finally finding the movies in a dusty corner of a shelf I brought them out, coughing a little as dust got into my face and mouth, my throat starting to itch followed by a feeling of dryness. Honda-san instantly jumped to the chance of worrying and caught coughing as I was, there was little I could do but give her half suffocated reassurances.

To ease her worry I went and drank some water from the tap in the bathroom, remembering that the adults seemed to have some kind of reunion in the kitchen. When I returned to the living room I was able to calm her down and we settled down by the table to see what we had to choose from.

Some went directly to the floor, such as "Flirt", "Night of passion" and "Problems down south". One glance at them and I knew for a fact that my face must have turned red by a blush, for my cheeks suddenly felt hot. The girl didn't protest as I sent the offending movies sliding across the table surface to crash down on the other side.

In the end, after rejecting all offending titles, I pretty much let her decide and it ended up being some romantic comedy. I wasn't really impressed by it but dutifully kept her company; it was better than going upstairs to spend a few hours studying to pass the time before heading off to bed.

* * *

I think it was starting to come to an end, I based this assumption on the fact that everything seemed to come crashing down in a "hilarious" way. Either way, I suddenly felt someone plop down beside me and looking to the side I found that it was Ayame, a grin plastered on his face and his gaze fixated on the TV screen.

I shifted a little where I sat to get more comfortable as he had all but sat down in my lap, but I didn't move that far away, didn't find a reason to.

"Hey, Yuki, what is this about?" I turned back to Ayame and caught his curious look before I looked back and started to explain the main plot.

"You see that girl? She's Sakura, and she's that guy's father's fiancée. But she's really in love with that guy in glasses, Minami. Their friends just crashed the wedding ceremony and they are now about to elope, I think."

"Ah, the beauty of love! ... Oh, they just fell into the pond…"

"Yeah, the beauty of love…" I repeated quietly in a sardonic manner, leaning back against the couch and pulling at the neck of my shirt to get more comfortable.

The movie ended soon enough, the main pair eloping together and going on a honeymoon to some tropical island, conveniently forgetting about the guy Minami knocked down and stole the suit from still remaining locked up in a cupboard.

Stretching my arms I rose and felt a small yawn force its way through. I may actually be able to fall asleep although it's a little bit early. Making my way between the table and Ayame's legs to the other side of the table, I turn the DVD player off and put the movie away.

"What a cute movie!" Tohru said happily and I smiled in response although she probably couldn't see it from here.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." A vague but pleasant answer.

"What did you think Yuki-kun?" _Crap_, was all I could think of, but I tried to point out something good so that she wouldn't have a fit.

"It was nicely done, especially the garden scene." I finally blurted out, only to be met by silence. I felt my cheeks start to feel heated again. Damn, why'd I have to say that? Thoroughly embarrassed, I swapped the TV to a random channel and sat down in the couch again, all sleepiness blown away for the moment.

* * *

Maybe half an hour later I felt the sleepiness creep up on me again. Honda-san had excused herself just a moment before and I decided it was about time for me too.

"Ah, Yuki, are you going anywhere?" Ayame asked me when I'd passed him and I turned back to look at him.

"Yeah. I thought I should prepare to sleep."

"I see. Well, good night on you! Sleep tight!" He said loudly and waved.

"Good night." I replied with a smile, but then I cocked my head to the side as it looked as though he still had something he wanted to tell me.

"Was there something else you wanted?"

"What?" He blinked in surprise and I went over and seated myself on the couch's armrest next to him.

"You look like you have something to say." I clarified causing him to blink, his mouth slightly open.

"Don't gape like that, you look stupid." The open mouth instantly snapped shut and an innocent puppy look was directed at me, almost causing me to laugh. I hid a smile behind my hand and then asked again.

"Was there anything you wanted to say?"

"Yes… Yuki, I want you to ask me if you have any questions!"

"What?" That was too sudden for me to comprehend and I blinked at him.

"If you have any questions… you know, _questions_… ask me." He tried again and I just stared at him for a moment. He was looking so awkwardly sincere that I honestly wanted to ask him about something, if just to put his mind at ease.

"Okay." I answered and he looked up at me, meeting my eyes.

"Okay?"

"I'll ask you if I have any questions. Actually, I do have one right now."

"Ask away! I, the supreme Ayame Sohma, your brother, will do his utmost to answer your question!" He exclaimed loudly, standing up and putting one of his feet on the table, a hand above his heart and the other flew out in a wide gesture.

"Fine, fine, just sit down will you?" I said, having barely avoided being smacked in the face by his hand. He obediently sat down, faster than I would have expected, and silent as a mouse looked up at me.

Remaining silent for a moment myself, I thought about possible questions, but only one struck me as truly important. But it came with another question, this one directed at myself.

Do I want to know the answer?

* * *

A/N: Another hard chapter completed. I hate dialogues like these... Thinking of how they should interact and what words they should use compared to each other and what directions their thoughts are more likely to take... *grumble grumble*

Either way, things I wanna know:

Shigure's metaphors getting too much? Too little Kyo action? Ayame way out of character? I would love to know your opinions.

And concerning the pace I have on developing Kyo's and Yuki's relationship, I would love it if you voted on the poll on my profile!

At the moment the plan is to develop it in a believable way, but I may take a couple of shortcuts and stuff if you want me to! And ideas to get them closer together would be awesome, although I have a basic idea already (several crazy ideas as well). See you next time!


	8. Host

A/N: Oh my god… I so died while writing this… You'll know why when you read it.

And for those who care; I will study writing for the next 3 years! I got in on the school and course of my choice! *Happy dance*

* * *

-:AYAME'S POV:-

I looked up expectantly at Yuki. I was so happy that he'd agreed so eagerly to it, I'd been ready to be shot down flat but he was ready with a question right away! I itched to move, but Yuki had told me to sit still, so I had to do that. It didn't stop my eyes from twinkling excitedly and my feet to bounce just a little bit on the floor though.

"It's something I've been wondering for a while…" He began and I nodded, waiting for the rest.

"Why am I living with Shigure? I mean, we're not that closely related, and I kind of wondered about _our_ family…" He stopped and looked down on me. I could feel his violet eyes scanning my expression but I couldn't do anything. I froze.

_Why?_ Why did he have to ask _that_? I don't know how to answer… I don't know how to tell him about it!

I was panicking, I knew that. My thoughts came to a complete halt once the information sunk in and I couldn't think, couldn't find any words. And that was bad considering my brain and tongue usually worked overload and were often working on at least two different subjects at the same time.

I opened my mouth, trying to answer, but there wasn't anything I wanted to say. And suddenly my thoughts kicked back into motion. There wasn't anything I wanted to say? No, I just didn't want to tell Yuki about mother and father. I didn't want to put that burden back on him. I…

"Haha" Yuki laughed. I blinked, stupefied once more.

"What's with that expression? I was just joking; you didn't take it seriously did you?" He smiled and cocked his head to the side, his whole expression telling me it had all just been a joke. But I'd done that myself. I'd told the very same lie.

_I don't want Yuki to lie._

"I'm sorry; it was a cruel joke, wasn't it?"A hand gently tousled my hair and I bowed my head under the weight, despite my conflicting feeling about what Yuki had told me, I was overjoyed about the gesture.

I didn't look up as the hand extracted itself from my hair, nor when I felt the warmth leave my side.

"Good night, Ayame nii-san."

I remained seated where I was, confused. Time went on, but the room remained the same, although I could hear the crickets outside now. The house was growing silent, voices disappearing as the occupants went to sleep.

Hanging my head lower, a lock of hair slid down my shoulder, ghosting across my neck causing me to shiver.

"Aya? Now what are you doing there?" A voice asked cheerfully but I didn't react to it. I barely registered what the words meant.

_What should I do?_

"Aya? Hey, did something happen?" Someone sat down next to me, brushing my hair out of my eyes and turning my head to I looked at the face of the one who did it. It was Shigure, his expression turning serious when I met his dark eyes.

"Do you want to talk to Hatori?" He asked quietly, searching my expression and I almost nodded, but then shook my head, thought confused and contradicting. He kept my face cradled in his hand and gently brushed my hair behind my ears.

"Then, will I do?" His query was soft and had a small hint of playfulness in it. It was soothing and familiar, something I needed now. I nodded and leaned forward until my head rested on his shoulder. Familiar scent, warmth and presence…

"So, what happened?" He fiddled with my hair and kept his tone light as he asked the dreaded question.

"Yuki… asked about our family. His and mine..." I didn't know how to explain the intense dread I'd felt when he asked. But it didn't seem like I would have to. Continuing to stroke my hair he answered, slowly and casually, as though it was completely normal.

"I see. That must have been a shock."

"I couldn't tell him 'Gure, I couldn't tell him about mother…" I sniffed a little and he shushed me.

"Shush, I understand. Let's go wipe your nose before you leave snot all over my shirt and then we go to sleep, alright? You can sleep with me tonight, so you won't have to be alone with your thoughts. We can talk to Yuki tomorrow, together. Is that fine?"

"Yesh" I said, my stuffy nose warping the word. He pushed me back a little before playfully exclaiming that my pretty face was going to get ruined. Smiling I followed him to the bathroom and dutifully blew my nose before I followed him to his room, dressing in a white sleeping yutaka and curling down, soon joined by the absolutely wonderful warmth of my friend.

I shifted a little.

"Eeek! Ayame, your feet are cold." He complained and I smiled before snuggling even closer and tangling those cold limbs with his. No complaints would bereave me of being comfortable!

It took me only a moment to drift off to sleep, though it would have been easier if Shigure could learn to lay still. He was too shifty for my taste…

* * *

It must have been morning when I was rudely dragged from sleep. My pillow shifted and my arms were being tugged so I couldn't really sleep any longer. Opening my eyes to slits I saw that more than my arms being pulled, Shigure was trying to sit up but I clung to him like a koala.

"Morning sunshine" He said when I smiled groggily at him. He smiled back and then expertly removed my arms, expertly meaning tickling my side so I rolled into a ball with a squeal.

"Hurry up and get dressed. We're going to get some breakfast done, you and I." I uncurled from my ball and looked up at him, nodding once before he disappeared out of the room. I pulled myself up and though I regretted having to leave the warmth of the bed, I rose and sneaked through the corridor to the room that had been intended for me.

I snuck inside and then started to rummage through my bag, humming as I rejected cloth after cloth until finally I settled for a shirt, dark pants and a blue overcoat. Slipping easily into the clothes I rubbed my arms to warm the cloth and skin underneath. It was so troublesome being the snake, never staying warm for more than a few moments.

After I was dressed I went down the stairs, treading lightly and gracefully, my thoughts working double shifts already.

We'll be heading home tomorrow morning… What should I tell Yuki? Should I bring up the question he joked away? Or maybe I shouldn't. Perhaps it's better if I talk to him about something lighter?

That reminds me, is Mine alright handling the store? Did those fabrics arrive already? I need them for the western dress.

Should I tell Yuki about the dress? No, he won't be interested. Maybe if I-

"Tea, coffee or chocolate?" I blinked and gave Shigure a slightly dazed look before I bounced over and seated myself.

"I want hot chocolate with cream!" I said excitedly, my previous thoughts completely eradicated, and he raised a brow but complied.

"As you wish."

A moment later I had the hot brew before me and I blew on it before gingerly taking a sip, instantly burning my tongue. Slipping the burned appendage out of my mouth with a grimace I waved at it with my hand, the other placing the cup on the table, but still holding on to it for warmth.

"Why do you always burn your tongue whenever you have chocolate?" The question was said in a curiously teasing manner and I answered in a likewise carefree way.

"I can't wait all day, especially not when I have it right in front of my nose! You know how much I like chocolate!"

"I know, but just where did you get that fetish? I've been by your side for ages and I can't tell when you got such an obsession with it. "

"Of course, it was when Yuki had some! He offered me to take a sip! I was so happy and instantly took a sip! Oh, I burned my tongue that time as well." I added the last as an afterthought, thinking back on the event.

"Did he smile by any chance?" Shigure laughed at me.

"How could you guess?" I made wide eyes at him but he just smirked the way he did when he knew something I didn't and he wasn't going to tell.

"Gure~!" I complained but he just chuckled.

"Drink your chocolate. It should have cooled a little by now." He definitely didn't play fair. But I picked up the chocolate and took a sip, wincing as the chocolate, unlike what Shigure had told me, was still scalding.

-:SHIGURE'S POV:-

I chuckled when he burned his tongue on the chocolate. He just looked so ridiculous with his nose scrunched up, tongue sticking out and a hand frantically and completely uselessly waving at the burn.

And his explanation only had me fighting harder not to outright laugh. To think that Yuki would actually trick Ayame into drinking scalding chocolate! What a sadistic little devil he was; who'd have guessed?

And that brother of his, completely oblivious. I'd better not burst his bubble. Though he complained loudly and tried to have me tell him I just smirked and on an impulse told him to drink the chocolate. And he did, letting out an upset squeak as he burned his already tender tongue once more.

As I said, oblivious.

* * *

It was some time later that I heard a thud coming from upstairs. I wondered who it could be, but eventually my question was answered as Yuki stumbled down the stairs. He looked completely out of it, in fact so much so I almost expected him to walk straight into a wall any second.

But he made it to the table and slumped down on a chair, placing his arms on the table and dropping his head down to rest on top of them, looking as though he fell asleep again. Ayame sat staring at him like a deer in headlight and from my place by the counter, a fresh cup of coffee in hand, I watched the two of them.

The minutes ticked by and I let my gaze slid over to the clock on the wall while I swallowed some of the bitter brew. Hmm, they are sleeping unusually late, my mind noted. "They" basically meaning Tohru and Hatori.

Speaking of the devil, Hatori ghosted down the stairs and entered the room, dressed in shirt and dress pants; tie properly in place and hair perfectly combed. He looked ready for business.

"Coffee?" I asked and gestured with my mug. He nodded and seated himself while I turned my back to the table and got a cup ready. Turning back I got the privilege of seeing Yuki return from the dead. He raised his head and though the area around his eyes was puffy, the eyes themselves were alert as he straightened his posture and gave a single yawn.

"Good morning" He said and Hatori and I answered in differing degrees of enthusiasm.

"Good morning Yuki."

"A glorious morning indeed, my dear brother! And I am here to share it with you!" No need to guess who said that.

Returning my attention to my coffee for a moment, swirling the dark brew at the bottom of my cup, I suddenly was hit with a brilliant idea, and I couldn't help but smile mischievously.

"Want some hot chocolate, Yuki?" I asked in a voice sweet as honey and saw him blink in surprise before raising a brow questioningly at my tone.

"Ayame already had some, but I'm afraid he burned his tongue." I continued, voice as sweet as before. And I'm quite certain I didn't imagine the flicker of recognition crossing his expression before he overly politely declined, refusing to look at Ayame. Busted, was all I could think and I snickered.

Instead of taking up the offer of chocolate, Yuki rose and got a bowl, cereals and milk out before he seated himself again and started fix himself some breakfast.

"Can you stop staring at me? It's a bit unnerving and I'm trying to eat here." Yuki pointed out and a pair of guilty citrine eyes turned away, the other two pairs keeping to their own business. Of course, my business dealt with the young teen, so I couldn't exactly say I let him out of my sight.

I had a promise with his brother to keep after all.

"Thank you" Yuki muttered after a while and then started to eat. I kept him under supervision the whole time, waiting for the moment to begin. Since we were all gathered it was a good opportunity and we'd have to take care of this one time or another. Better sooner than later.

When he put down his spoon and leaned back a little I cast Hatori a quick glance before I spoke up.

"Yuki, I have a few questions I would like to ask. Care to indulge?"

"Depends on. Will you care for my answers?" There was a small challenge in his words and I recognized the words from our little chat the other day.

"I'll listen to them. You are welcome to ask questions as well." I offered, knowing he would accept the terms.

"Fine. You first, what do you want to ask?"

"I want to know whether you know someone by the name of Akito."

"No, I don't. Haven't you- No, that's not my question. Who is this Akito?" He changed the question and I wondered briefly what his first question was, but dismissed the thought in favor of answering his question.

"Akito is the head of our clan, and somewhat of a god to us. Have you heard the story of the 12 zodiacs before?"

"No, I haven't. Why would you wonder that?" Continuing to throw back questions huh? Well, it made this a whole lot easier, so I didn't mind.

"I asked because the 12 zodiacs are closely related to our family history. Now then, would you like to hear about the zodiacs and its relation to our family?"

"It's not like I have anything better to do." He said, but he couldn't quite hide the curiosity from me.

"Hatori, you know it the best. Why don't you enlighten him?" I said with a smile and leaned back against the counter. Hatori gave me an exasperated look but started to tell the story either way.

"Long ago God invited his favorite animals to a banquet. It was to be a grand feast and he warned them not to be late. The animals he invited were the rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and the boar. But God invited one more individual, the cat." He made a pause to catch his breath before he continued.

"The cat, not having heard the news of the banquet yet, was played a prank by the rat. The rat told the cat that the banquet was the day after the set date. So while the other animals walked the path to God's feast, the cat stayed home, thinking it would be the next day. The rat rode on the ox's back to the feast and by jumping down before the gates it was the first animal to arrive, earning the first place in the cycle. All the animals on the feast became the zodiacs of today, but the cat was cursed and left out for being late." Hatori ended it monotonously and I clapped my hands.

"That pretty much sums it up. Any comments so far?"

"Leaving the cat out sounds pretty unfair" Was his comment. And was that a surprise or what? I didn't think Yuki would defend the cat.

"But I guess it's his own fault for being tricked." I judged too soon again, it seems. But the comment was better than the previous one. This sounded more like the Yuki I knew, and that was way better than a Yuki who was the opposite of what I expected. I preferred predictable people over unpredictable, after all.

Either way, I once more took charge of the conversation, seeing as Hatori believed himself done.

"I don't know about that, but now you must wonder what all of this has to do with our family to do, right?"

"Enlighten me" Was all Yuki said, putting his chin in his hands, elbows against the table for support as he looked at me expectantly. Very well. Now comes the crazy part. I do wonder how he'll take it.

"Hatori counted up the zodiacs before. Well, we in the Sohma family are a tiny bit special. Every generation or so, one child gets possessed by the spirit of each of the zodiacs. I, for example, am the host for the dog zodiac, Hatori over there is the dragon and your brother is the snake."

"Uhm…" Oh Yuki, I wish you could see your expression right now! He was looking wonderfully dubious and was giving me one of those looks questioning my sanity.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" I said with a wide grin and he shook his head.

"Absolutely not" He answered matter-of-factly and I sighed, shaking my head at him.

"I thought so."

"Hey! What are you acting all high and mighty for?" He gave me a sour look and I was about to answer him when quick footsteps where heard, soon followed by Tohru bursting into the room, hair on end.

"Ah, I can't believe I over slept! I'm sorry; I couldn't get coffee for you!" She started rambling right of the bat apologizing and Yuki rose trying to calm her, telling her to sit down before she tripped or something.

Huh…Tripping… Sounds fun.

Smiling mischievously I pushed away from the counter and walked up to Yuki from behind and "accidentally" bumped into him while passing, sending him into Tohru.

A telltale poof and a small rat was sitting dazedly amongst scattered clothing.

"Oh, I'm sorry Yuki-kun! I should have seated myself!" Tohru exclaimed holding the shirt Yuki had worn just moments before clutched to her chest.

Yuki blinked repeatedly, ears twitching as he lifted his gaze, and head, to look up at her. He blinked some more and then looked down, lifting his small paws, closing and opening them as he stared at them.

"What the fuck?" Were the first words coming out his mouth.

Oh dear lord… did Yuki just drop the f-bomb? I felt my eyes going wide in surprise and then I turned as I heard crash. The chair Ayame had been occupying was out of sight along with the silver haired man, who upon closer inspection had fallen over in surprise, now sitting on the floor and looking at his rat brother with wide eyes. His moment of silent shock didn't last long.

"No! Who taught you such unsightly words? This heinous act can't be tolerated!" He then exclaimed and threw himself at the rat, catching him before he had time to make more than a wide eyed squeak. Bringing him to his chest he continued his tirade.

"It's all right my dear brother! I will protect you from now on! Your innocent soul shall not be tainted by such vulgarism!" He boomed out and I felt sorry for Yuki who squeezed his eyes shut and his ears twitched before he started to slap at Ayame's hand with his small paws.

"Hey, put me down! And you! Stop staring and tell me what's going on!" He waved his small arms at me and I doubled over, laughing. Oh lord, kill me now! It was so hilarious, I couldn't help it! A rat was shaking it's fist at me!

"Can the explanation wait just a few minutes Yuki? It appears like Shigure just snapped and I don't believe Ayame is going to let go any time soon." I heard Hatori say but my laugh was almost drowning it out. When the fit was over and I straightened, brushing away a stray tear, I heard a door slam and several stomping steps.

"Do you have to be so freaking loud in the morning?" Kyo growled as he made his glorious entrance upon the scene. One glance at the silent room and he froze before he turned around and walked away, deciding this wasn't going to get better with him getting caught up in the mess.

"Ah, Kyo! Sorry, you see it's just that…"Tohru's voice slowly faded away as she rushed after him to explain, leaving me and Hatori watching Yuki's struggle against his brother.

Finally Hatori intervened, perhaps talking pity on the confused rat.

"Ayame, could you please but him down so he isn't as agitated? He'll never turn back to normal if he doesn't calm down." He said patiently and Yuki went limp in Ayame's hands, obviously having his wits tested to their limits by the doctor's words. Ayame complied after a moment and sat his brother down by his clothes and backed a little.

Everyone waited and finally the poof was heard and eyes turned away to allow the teen to get dressed. I snickered at his indignant exclamation about being naked and when I was pretty certain he was decent again I turned back.

"Care to explain what just happened?" Yuki said in a low voice, his face red from indignation and his appearance ruffled. He rose and leaned against the wall, wrapping his arms around his torso in a defensive manner.

"We told you before about the zodiacs and how we are the hosts for them. You are the host for the rat." Hatori explained.

"I'm a what?" He asked and I repeated what Hatori said.

"Host for the rat of the 12 zodiacs."

"You're kidding, right?" I would never have thought he'd be so hard to convince. He turned back from being a rat just a few moments ago! Which I, being the nice person I was, pointed out.

"Well, you did just transform into a rat, did you not?"

"I wish I could say 'Did not' " He muttered before turning silent, his eyes reflecting the chaotic thoughts that must run rampage in his head at the moment. I left him to his own thoughts for a moment before I went over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, sit and we'll explain this properly to you." He nodded and let himself be led to a chair and seated. I helped Ayame to his chair as well before I seated myself, joining the other three.

"Basically it's like we've told you already. The Sohma family has been "cursed" for generations. You have met all the hosts already. Apart from us, Hatsuharu is the ox, Momiji the hare, Kagura the boar, Kisa the tiger, Hiro the sheep, Ritsu the monkey, Rin the horse and then there's Kureno, the rooster."

"Do you really expect me to remember that after hearing it once?" Yuki said, rubbing his temple, looking annoyed but thoughtful.

"You'll learn it eventually, I'm sure. Either way, there's also the cat. He's not part of the official zodiac but the spirit still has its own host, and that host is Kyo."

"Is that why he hates me? That's so cartoon, the cat chasing the rat I mean." He shook his head and I mentally debated whether I should let him believe that was the reason or explain their relationship a little.

The ups in telling him would be that he could act more normally around Kyo, maybe calming him down a little.

The downs were that he may blow up in my face if I tell him since he can't remember anything about it and he may chose to confront Kyo and a lot of other not so convenient things.

More bad than good, so he'll have to remember on his own. Who knows, maybe they'll come to an understanding?

…

Yeah right.

"Well, something like that. Either way, as you noticed before, you transformed when you crashed into Tohru. There are two things that make us transform. One is when he get hugged by the opposite sex. This does not include those who are a host for a spirit. The second way is if we get exposed to a lot of stress or when our bodies are weak for some reason."

"Totally logical" Yuki commented sardonically and I snickered. Who would have thought Yuki had a sense of humor?

"Logic or not, it's problematic and comes with a few rules. People outside of the Sohma household are not to know about the curse. Which means you have to make sure you don't crash into any females."

"And what if I do?"

"You hide and contact Hatori. He will make sure the incident will be forgotten, but I recommend you not to test it." He nodded once and I clapped my hands, replacing my grave expression with a cheerful one.

"Now that that's over with, is there anything you wonder about?"

"A lot, but I think I've got enough answers for now. I think I'll take a walk to gather my thoughts." He rose from his chair, taking it for granted that he could just leave. Not up to arguing about it, I took a glance out the window and hurried to put out a request at least.

"Dress properly, it's still risk for more rain. And return before lunch." I told him and he nodded, walking out of the room. I now turned my attention to my longhaired cousin. Ayame had been silent the whole conversation, if you didn't count the little mishap, but he seemed to be content about the outcome.

"We'll talk to him about your family later, alright? I know I promised, but I think Yuki needs some time." I explained myself just in case, but he shook his head.

"It's fine. I do not wish to rush him." He reassured me and even gave me a genuine smile. Relieved I dismissed our little gathering.

"Good. Now, how about we evacuate the kitchen and let the cat have some breakfast in peace? I'm sure Tohru can coax him here if we just mind our own business."

-:YUKI'S POV:-

I had already gone upstairs to pull a gray hoodie over my head and put on a thin jacket to keep the imminent rain away should it fall when I slipped on my shoes and headed outside. The clouds were light grey and covered the entire sky. The ground was glistening with wet drops from the storm last night and the ground gave softly underneath my feet.

I picked up a slow pace, leisurely strolling down from the house on a well used path. While I let my mind chew on the information I'd been fed, I let my eyes take in the surrounding landscape. The path led across a plain of grass, up a hill were it divided into two, one leading to a lake of middle size and the other continuing towards the woods.

Admiring the grey reflections on the water surface from a distance, I then followed the wooden path. I pulled up my hood when I felt the drops hitting my head, dripping from the branches above. It was relatively quiet, a few birds making their way from one branch to another, causing a rustle followed by a cascade of small droplets.

I continued walking for quite a long while. When the rain started to fall like predicted, I took shelter underneath a tree with heavy branches, keeping almost all water off of me.

I crouched down and observed the water hitting the ground of the path I'd walked for a moment before I more closely inspected my thoughts which had been buzzing at the back of my awareness ever since the talk at the house.

"The rat of the 12 zodiacs, huh." It all felt so unrealistic. Transforming into a rat because I bumped into a girl? Such things just didn't happen. Yet, it had.

"This is messed up." And who knows how much more is coming?

* * *

A/N: Here we go. I had a lot of trouble with the conversation with Shigure, Hatori, Ayame and Yuki. Didn't I complain about that the last chapter? Gods, I hate having them speak all together! I'll have to try and avoid that in the future or I'm going to go bonkers.

I tried tuning the funny part down, and I tried swapping lines, but it just didn't cut it. Ayame felt soooo unbalanced, I have no idea how to keep track of that guy! He should be the eel, not the snake! He's just too damn slippery! *grumble grumble*

Either way, you'll ust have to deal with it! I can't make it any better! T_T


	9. Difference

A/N: Here we are again! Finally a new chapter. I have one excuse that might interest you; writers block coupled with stupidity. I somehow let Ayame get kidnapped by aliens (or in other words forgot to place him in the chapter... failure) and barely mentioned Tohru... So I had to re-write it a little...

Either way its here and I hope you enjoy! Would **love** reviews, been a while since I worked on this fic, and any viewpoints are welcome!

* * *

-Chapter 9: Difference-  
-:YUKI'S POV:-

Since the rain hadn't shown any sign of lightening up anytime soon, I had given up and went out from my spot underneath the tree and started to jog back, slowly letting my pace drop until I was walking. The way back seemed to take much longer than the way there had, which made me wonder just how lost in thought I must have been to not notice.

I was feeling thoroughly drenched by the time I got back, and I was happy to pull back my hood and drag my fingers through my slightly damp tresses before I took off my shoes, followed by the jacket and hoodie.

Putting the clothes to dry, I went to dry my face and bangs with a towel, or possibly jump into the shower for a quick and warm solution to the problem involving cold droplets down my neck. Heading up the stairs I was just about to turn for my room when I ran into Kyo. We both stopped and took a quick step back out of reflex so that we wouldn't collide, and then stared at each other.

Rather, he stared so intensely at me that I just _had to_ return the favor.

We continued to stare at each other in silence and I attempted to suppress a shiver as a cold drop of water slid down my throat. I didn't succeed, feeling my shoulders quiver slightly.

I saw his gaze intensify, and for some reason, I felt like backing down. I didn't like the way Kyo was glaring at me, but unlike the other times I'd met him, I didn't want to confront him about it.

There was something in his eyes that just bothered me. Behind the anger or whatever it was he glared at me with, there was frustration. It did not sit well with me. But even though I felt like backing down and leaving, I felt like that would be the wrong course in this situation. The tension in Kyo's stance was obvious, and I thought he'd snap if I so much as moved.

It was a frustrating feeling, wanting to move but not daring to do so, and the longer time went, the more the feeling of wanting both to escape and provoke the guy in front of me grew. I clenched my hand and slowly shifted my stance a little, attempting to get better balance in my footing.

I didn't expect him to break the silence.

"Just what did you do?" He growled and I answered snappishly, too on edge to do anything else.

"Excuse me?" Definitely original, but considering the situation, I wouldn't have been surprised even if I spared it a thought. But my every sense was trained on the guy in front of me.

"I'm asking you what you did to lose your memory, dumbass rat." His stance straightened and I shifted my foot a little more, a little more on the defensive.

"Stop calling me that already. And for your information, I have no idea what you're talking about." I had managed to gather some of my cool here and answered in a low voice, hoping to dissuade him from the idea of jumping me like earlier.

"Stop fucking denying it! It's obvious the way you act! You should be all arrogant, selfish and high and mighty!"

"Since when have I been like that?" Well, there went the plan of staying calm.

"You were that way before! Now you're claiming to have forgotten everything, didn't you get enough attention before?" He accused me loudly and I snapped back in the same spirit.

"I'm not claiming anything so stop accusing me! And why would I erase my own memories to get attention? Are you stupid?"

"How the fuck should I know why you did it? Argh! This is all wrong!"

"Of course it is! Hello, you're freaking yelling at me for no reason!"

"That's not the problem!"

"Then what is?" I could hear footsteps hurrying to where we were and I turned to see Shigure about to come up the stairs. Bad idea.

The next thing I knew was something slamming into my face. The surprise blow sent me down on my ass; head banging into the wall behind me so I for a very brief moment thought I saw double.

"You are the problem!" Kyo roared at me and I saw his expression turn clearly frustrated, and then Shigure was between us.

"That's enough!" I looked up at his back, my hand going to my aching cheek. Damn, the place where his fist connected hurt more than where the wall did. A movement to my left made me aware of Hatori kneeling down by my side, crouching on the last step of the staircase.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly and I answered I was fine but it was drowned out by Shigure.

"What were you thinking?" He snapped at Kyo who snapped back.

"That he fucking deserved it!"

"I don't care what you think he deserves or not, you can't go around hitting people!"

"Why should my thoughts not matter? Why don't any of you think that it's wrong? He's wrong!" I froze at the first part of the sentence. I had screamed practically the same thing at Shigure just days ago. But the other part of his speech made me revoke any points he may have gained with me.

"He's not wrong. He's a bit different but that doesn't…"Shigure was _trying_ to be calm and reasonable; I could hear it in his voice as the volume had decreased and though the anger was audible, it was restrained.

"A little? He's like different person! He's not the Yuki I knew!"

…

What? It was all my muddled brain could come up with. He was all angry because I wasn't the Yuki he knew? Wasn't he the one who said I was arrogant and all high and mighty?

My second thought wasn't much better… Cliché.

"I don't want to hear another word from you. Go to your room, we'll talk later." He turned his back to Kyo, allowing me to catch a glimpse of Kyo's face once more, but it was too fleeting for me to read his expression. I looked up at Shigure and found myself doing something rather surprising.

"Just leave him be. I think this is something between the two of us." I told Shigure and saw the shock on his face. Yes, I was defending the guy who just punched me in the face. I had my reasons.

"I'm not going to le-" He began to protest and I was ready to counter but it wasn't needed.

"Shigure." Hatori interrupted and I let my gaze flick over to him before it settled back on Shigure.

"What?"

"Let them try and talk things out. I believe we are partially to blame for this. We haven't properly taken their past relation to each other into consideration."

"There's nothing to talk about." Kyo growled but I didn't agree.

"You hit me and tell me I'm wrong and then you don't want to tell me why? Is it because you have no explanation? You must be stupider than I thought." I taunted him and heard a growl. It felt a bit weird not seeing him when I was talking, and I turned my head to the side trying to see past Shigure.

"Shut up, rat. I'm not talking to you."

"Yes you are. You'll talk to me later as well or I'll sic a dog at you." When I said dog, I looked pointedly up at Shigure and blinked at him, earning a pair of raised brows.

I didn't get a reply to that but judging by the stomps I accurately guessed he'd left for his room. I heard a surprised query which could only be from Honda-san before the loud slam of a door being shut with excessive force and saw Shigure give a distracted wave and reassurance to the girl that worriedly stuttered something unintelligible from somewhere down the hall.

I could barely care less. My head was hurting _so bad_.

Pushing myself of the floor, careful to keep a hand against the wall in case I got dizzy, I rubbed at the back of my skull.

"Ouch." I said needlessly and Hatori grabbed my arm lightly.

"Follow me down and I'll have a look." I was about to nod but thought better of it and simply followed him down the stairs.

As we descended I saw Ayame hurrying over from the living room, a phone in his hand and his eyes wide.

"Yuki! I heard shouting, what happened, are you alright?" He threw it all out in one breath and I had no way of answering it as he grabbed ahold of my head and turned me around so he could examine me. the phone digging into my cheek painfully. He unhappily exclaimed that my cheek was swollen and was about to go into a tirade or possibly a fit when Shigure came from behind us and simply dislodged Ayame's hands from my face, the phone crashing unceremoniously into the floor. Not bothering to pick it up he then dragged him headfirst into the kitchen.

Hatori and I followed right behind, though Hatori took the time to pick up the sad pieces of the communication device.

I sat down by the kitchen table and Ayame grabbed a hold of my right arm and clung to it, his eyes still wide like a child in shock. I didn't have the energy to push him away so I kept silent and let him cling to me. When Hatori entered the room and closed the door behind him, he also discarded the objects in his hand on a nearby open area, and then turned to me.

He pushed my head down a little so he could see better before he began to prod softly at the back of my skull. I winced once or twice but otherwise kept a straight face. A while later I felt his hands disappear and I raised my head, watching something trade hands between the two elders that weren't clinging to me, before something cool pressed against the sore area at the back of my skull making me wince, my shoulders snapping up to the height of my ears before I relaxed again.

My free hand went to the cold thing that proved to be an icepack, and when I had my hand wrapped around it, Hatori's hand retreated.

"It is only a small bump. Keep the icepack on for a while and it should go down. As for your cheek, you can put the icepack there later if it hurts, but it's not necessary." His eyes lingered on the slightly aching spot on my cheek before turning away.

"Okay, thanks." I said and then tried to find a more comfortable way to hold the icepack. Damn, I'd have to lie down or my arm would drop off sooner or later. My other arm was in the danger of falling of sooner or later as well, considering the weight that was hanging from it. I lowered the ice pack and gave Ayame a careful smile.

"Nii-san, I'm fine, so can you let go? I want to go into the living room."

"Of course, Yuki! We'll go there now, I'll lead the way!" He exclaimed in a voice that was pitched a little too high, his expression still that of a shocked child's despite the overly cheerful smile that was plaster on his lips. His behavior worried me. Which led me to allow him to continue to cling, something I was certain looked absurd in the eyes of others. Keeping my features in check so I wouldn't worry him more, I walked over to the door and Ayame opened it for me.

"Yuki" I paused and looked over at Shigure when he spoke, raising an inquiring brow.

"What?"

"…Lunch will be ready in an hour or so."

"Okay?" I answered; feeling like the sentence was a bit out of context. Like he'd planned to say something else but changed his mind at the last second. Shrugging the thoughts away when he didn't elaborate, I tugged lightly on my older brother's arm so he would follow, and went into the living room where I managed to convince Ayame to sit in the armchair while I placed myself on the couch, arranging so that I had the icepack between my head and the armrest.

Ayame moved the armchair closer and soon I felt a hand carefully threading into my hair. I looked up at his uncertain but slightly excited expression and gave a small smile of approval before I closed my eyes. The last I saw was how his smile turned beaming, and the fingers moved with more certainty. To think he would get happy about something as simple as patting my head.

But it was nice, actually. For a time I focused on the cold against the back of my head and the overly gentle strokes on the top of it.

But soon my thoughts drifted to the fight upstairs.

Kyo… He seemed frustrated very much like I was. That was one reason I wanted to talk to him. I guess another was a matter of pride. I hadn't liked the way I was being protected by Shigure from a guy my own age. I also didn't like to be punched down without a reason I could understand, and I wanted an explanation as well as an apology.

And I wanted to clear up whatever had happened between us before. And with before, I meant in the blank I did not know. The memories which I had supposedly somehow forgotten about… Kyo may be the only one I could talk normally to about it, considering he wasn't beating around the bush like some others.

He was more likely to beat_ me_. Which he'd done. _Twice_. A flicker of the emotions he'd woken in me before he snapped hit me and I shivered. The hand in my hair froze and I blinked my eyes open to give Ayame a reassuring glance before I closed my eyes again. The shiver was most likely due to the cold icepack.

At least I could tell myself that.

Still, I did wonder what I'd gotten myself into.

-:KYO'S POV:-

Fuck, now I'd really done it. The weather getting the better of me, I snapped at Yuki and hurled out things that barely made sense even in my own ears. And what was with the "_You're not the Yuki I know!_" crap? Seriously, that was lame. Sitting with my back against the closed door I brought my hands up to my face. I was just so tired of it all!

Some things I'd said were true. I was extremely frustrated with the fact that no one acted like something was wrong. They wrapped Yuki in attention and it hadn't taken long for me to notice it. The disrespect, careful glances and the distancing. The _difference_…

Fuck, I'd thought I'd gotten used to it already! I should have, but when I first came to Shigure's home there was none of that. He acted like I was a troublesome cousin he had to take care of, which was annoying at times, but at least he wasn't treating me like the cat.

I was treated like a human being.

But Yuki had to go and destroy that! Ever since he lost him memories I'd felt those looks return, enter eyes I had not seen it come from before. Shigure put a distance between me and Yuki, something he'd never done before. Like he was protecting the _perfect_ rat from the _monster _cat.

It hurt, more than I thought it would. I had never thought it would happen, or, shit… I had thought it would happen, when I first left to live there. I had thought I'd be shunned there. But I hadn't been, except by Yuki.

Back to Yuki again… Damn! Why did this have to happen? Things had been fine the way they were before! It had been _perfectly_ fine. I could fight Yuki without getting in trouble. He would kick my ass, but he would always taunt me as though to ensure I would come at him again.

It was surely because he liked flaunting his skills like that day out and day in. But at least he'd been freaking fighting back! Moving my hands back from my face I glared at the fist that had connected to Yuki's cheek a while before. I could still feel the impact.

Growling I slammed the fist against the floor, eyes tightly shut and mind stubbornly trying to find something else to think of than the aggravating situation at hand. But what are you supposed to think about when you've just beat down your cousin, been saved from a verbal thrashing by the _very same_ cousin and gotten yourself a blasted headache to boot?

You could always think about the wonderful weather that started all of this crap, or why not think about the lunch that you will most certainly skip so you won't have to get into a fight?

I felt a sudden gratefulness for Tohru wash over me as she'd driven me down to eat breakfast earlier. I didn't know how I'd manage without it. Heaving a heavy sigh and letting my head fall back with a thud against the wood, I cursed under my breath.

This was just not my day…

-:SHIGURE'S POV:-

I paced a little, Yuki just having left the kitchen for the living room together with his brother, who for the record was looking like the one who'd been hit was _him_ rather than Yuki, and by Akito rather than Kyo. It was disturbing, but I supposed I could understand it somehow. Now that Yuki wasn't rejecting him anymore, Ayame was growing overly attached. He'd done something similar once, when Hatori got really angry. I don't think Hatori ever really got angry after that…

Shaking my head, I dismissed those thoughts and returned to those that mattered.

One minute I had been certain I would be able to predict how Yuki would act and react, the next I wondered what went through the teens head. It was frustrating. Especially since I'd come to realize I couldn't control either him or Kyo as easily as I'd thought. Watching him snap had me realizing it wouldn't work to simply tell him to not interfere and then release him back free as a bird. Due to his hatred for Yuki, he was bound to snap and do his utmost to rile him up, which was counterproductive.

So how exactly was I supposed to handle this? Apparently I was supposed to let the kids handle this on their own, on Yuki's _and_ Hatori's behalf. I'd _much_ rather have a talk with Kyo and get this situation cleared up!

Yet I had no idea what I would tell him, if I spoke to him. I would rebuke him for his behavior, but what then?

I pondered this in silence, my thoughts disjointed and without order and context. With a heavy sigh I turned around, dropping into a behavior pattern that would be expected in this situation; irritation, anger. Something fiery that I could use as a mask to hide my thoughts while I processed them.

As predicted, the heavy sigh I let out coupled with the dark look in my eyes did not go unnoticed by Hatori. He gave me a speculative look before he told me to sit down and talk to him.

"I think you are an idiot, Hatori" Were the first words out of my mouth after I'd taken my seat and arranged myself so I stared into his impassive expression. He didn't even flinch, so I continued, adding more venom to my voice despite the fact that I wasn't really angry at him.

"You are a _bloody_ idiot if you think they're not going to fight if we leave them alone to solve this. They couldn't even pass each other by! What are you expecting? That they suddenly make up?" I was being unfair, but the look in his eye told me he knew what I was doing. I was using him as an outlet, someone to went my frustration at and bounce thoughts against while trying to understand them. He was aware of it, and complied.

"I don't think they will make up." Hatori answered calmly and I snapped back almost instantly, already prepared for it.

"Oh, so that's why you're letting them at each other. It makes sense, nothing less from the doctor." I went overboard… I realized it quickly and toned down the intensity of my accusations. "It doesn't make sense to leave them like that, Hatori. Even Ayame can see that."

"Letting them try this out on their own is the best we could do at this given moment. Our meddling in this when Yuki's clearly stated he does not wish our interference will only aggravate him."

"I can accept that Yuki would prefer it this way and he may actually have a point, but what's to say Kyo is going to be reasonable? He's never going to just calmly listen."

Hatori regarded me silently in a way he rarely did. It was in the manner he did when he saw something he did not approve of, yet was uncertain how to approach.

"I believe you should have more faith in him. He has not been completely unreasonable before, has he?" So very careful. Hatori had spoken slowly, as though he considered every word once more as they left his mouth, leaning heavily on some. It made me pause, consider his words in the very same manner he did.

_Kyo hasn't been completely unreasonable before, has he? Unreasonable… _I repeated the words in my mind, trying to see what the Sohma doctor was hinting at. Then it clicked.

It had been so easy that I'd dismissed it. Or rather, so normal that I hadn't seen it. I shook my head in disbelief and gave Hatori a slightly dumbfounded look, my voice subdued when I finally found it.

"I see your point, Ha-san."

Hatori let out a soft breath and I saw the tension around his eyes dissipate. And I knew my charade was over. I couldn't muster the energy to pretend to be angry anymore. I slumped back against the backrest, eyes silently staring at the wooden table between us.

"Though, I still don't see why we should just leave them alone. We've got to structure things up or we'll never get out of this mess." I said slowly, feeling my longtime friends eyes on me.

"True. But I suggest we let them try out on their own. Then, depending on the result, we can act accordingly. Our highest priority at the moment is to return Yuki to his normal routines."

"I thought our goal was to bring back his memories." I pointed out half seriously and lifted my gaze only to halt at the return of tension in Hatori's stance. What-?

"Let nature take its course about that. As we can't directly do anything about it we should focus on returning Yuki to school as quickly as possible."

"But surely there's something we can do?"

"Apart from trying to act normal around him there isn't much. I could have sessions with him, but as… unstable as he is, I suspect it would have less than satisfactory results."

I pondered his logic for a moment and then shrugged it off. He was the doctor, not I.

"You said you could have sessions with him, why don't you?"

"I don't think he wants to talk about his problems."

"That's quite obvious, but that is no reason not to try."

"I will not try unless he shows interest in it. It won't help if I force him…" He paused as though he considered adding something and I raised my gaze to give him a questioning look. After a moment he complied and continued the chain of thought.

"I believe Yuki has some things he'd rather discuss with Kyo than he would with you or me. Or Ayame"

"Like what?" I questioned, my mind already coming to several conclusions on its own before he next opened his mouth.

"Things going through his head that he doesn't want to be corrected for. I suspect he would want to talk to someone that is as clueless as him when it comes to his amnesia."

"And this is your doctoral expertise talking?"

"If you wish to call it that."

I shook my head at him and leaned back further against the chairs backrest. Silence fell between us as I allowed the conversation sink in.

I came to the very same conclusion I'd come to several times before.

"I knew I should have gotten a manual in parenting."

Hatori raised an inquiring brow but I waved tiredly at him. No sense explaining myself.

-:KYO'S POV:-

As I'd predicted, I didn't walk down when they called for lunch. Though I was surprised when I heard footsteps outside my door and when Tohru mildly said she would leave some lunch here for when I wanted it, I could hug the girl.

Once she left I opened the door and brought the tray inside before once more locking myself inside. It was rice and fish, as well as vegetables. Thankfully no leak. I ate fairly quickly, feeling some of my irritation disappear together with the food.

Looking out the window I saw the rain pelt against the glass and felt a small scowl make it back to my features. Putting the bowl I had in hand down, I went over and pulled the drapes so I at least wouldn't have to see the rain, although now that I was once more aware of it, could clearly hear it.

Returning to my food I chewed loudly, which was almost unnecessary as the taste held most of my attention. Damn it was good.

But I finished soon and then I was back with the same problem as before. I had nothing to do and I couldn't leave the room. Hell, it hadn't mattered after all whether I'd been chewed out by Shigure earlier or if I spoke to Yuki later; I was still confined to my room!

Growling in irritation I headed over and flopped down on the bed, willing myself to stillness. No reason to waste energy.

Sometime later I could hear knocks on my door and I seriously tried to ignore it. I assumed it was Yuki coming for our little "talk" and I had absolutely no wish to speak to him. Better to have Shigure at my tail now than after I beat the living light out of Yuki… That thought made me freeze all over.

How come it was so easy to assume I could beat him? Of course I'd hit him twice… Did that count as winning? Technically, hadn't I bested Yuki? The thought hadn't hit me before now and I was so absorbed by the different thoughts and emotions that bubbled up at this new perspective that I managed to ignore the bangs on the door.

At least until a kick had the door rattling in its holds, jerking me back to reality and having my head slam back against the nearby wall. Cursing I sat up and jumped off the bed, crossing the floor to the other side of the room. Flicking the lock and opening the door I came face to face with a slightly disgruntled Yuki.

His cheek was slightly swollen, reminding me once more of the fact that I'd actually managed to land a hit. In the daze I entered it was easy for him to push me inside the room and close the door, as well as lock it while he was at it, before I could react properly.

Seeing as he'd already infiltrated the room I gave up and went over to my bed, flopping down on it with my back against him.

"Hey" Yuki started and I gave a grunt in reply. Damn, off to a really good start aren't we?

Yuki remained silent and I could feel his eyes boring into my back, the feeling making my skin crawl. Sighing in defeat I sat up again and somehow faced him, my gaze fixated on the wall to the left of where he stood leaned against the door.

"I… I'm not going to ask for an explanation." Were the first things out of his mouth and I didn't quite follow.

"Huh?"

"For the hit, you know. Originally, that was the reason I wanted to talk but… I guess my head was really cooled by the icepack." He smiled wryly at what was a joke of some kind, but I didn't quite get the funny part.

"So?" I asked blandly, for I was a bit curious what he wanted to talk about if he didn't want an explanation, but I wasn't up to letting him know that. Fixing him with a slightly narrowed gaze I waited for his answer.

"So I kind of wanted to speak to you rather than have an explanation. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think we both feel a bit… frustrated by all this." Yuki was fidgeting ever so slightly as he said this, his dark eyes meeting mine only briefly for acknowledgement before they drifted away, focusing on a spot on the wall.

Frustrated? Hell yeah I was. That much was for sure. But I wasn't so sure I wanted to admit it outside the confines of my mind. So I remained silent, holding my tongue. This resulted in a silence stretching between us for a moment before Yuki broached it, a small scowl flickering across his features before he once more returned to a slightly embarrassed but otherwise unreadable expression.

"Uhm… I guess I'll have to try and explain myself. I… realize… that some things have fallen out of my memory."

"Loads" I corrected him and met his gaze challengingly, but he just shrugged after a moment and fixed his gaze at his feet, back leaning against the door now.

"Point is that I've forgotten some stuff. And I thought perhaps you felt the same about it. That it's frustrating, I mean." He murmured the first part, but by the last words his voice was clear again, ringing almost loudly in the space around us.

"You think it's frustrating?"

"Of course I do! What did you expect? That I wou-" He stopped himself and frowned. "Wait, you did say you thought I did it on purpose. But you don't really think that, do you?" He was sounding very skeptical and the look in his eyes was clearly wondering whether I was an idiot. I bristled and answered with a growl.

"No"

"Good. Either way, I also realize that you have a problem with me." He waited for some kind of response but I just kept up my slight glare, it was enough of an answer.

"I don't know what your problem with me is… so I'd appreciate it if you could tell me." I blinked silently, staring at him with a bland expression on my face. Huh? He wanted me to… tell him what had me hating him? That's… _awkward_.

"You wanna know why I hate you?" I asked incredulously and he winced before he nodded.

"Yes"

"The cat has always hated the rat" I pointed out and he raised a brow.

"Don't you think that's cartoonish? I mean, I don't… I think it's a tiny bit shortsighted."

"I've never seen a reason not to hate you."

"I see… But what have I done to deserve that hate?"

"…Stuff" I replied lamely, not knowing what to say or how to explain. What was I supposed to say?

"_Why I hate you? Why, it's only because you are the rat and because of you the cat is hated! Oh, and apart from you being all high and mighty about it, there was the slight problem with favoritism!"_

…God that sounded bad. I was quite glad I had said none of that aloud, though the question still remained, and so did the chance that I blurted it out or something equally lame.

"Stuff?" Yuki repeated and I dragged my fingers through my hair in frustration.

"You… We were always held back from each other. You hated me and I hated you. The cat and the rat. Tradition." I looked at him and saw that he truly didn't understand it. "I don't know how to explain it other than that! We hated each other,_ alright?_ And we fought a lot. We never got along."

"Okay…" He remained silent and so did I. I'd said what I could; now he'd have to say something for I sure as hell wasn't going to say anymore!

And so the silence stretched. It filled the space between us, enveloped us and allowed the surrounding sounds to emerge. Rain still pelted stubbornly against the cold glass window, the wind having increased in strength and whistling by outside. Footsteps downstairs, barely audible through the many layers of wood and such that lay between.

On and off I looked at Yuki, alternated between turning to look over the room's interior and watching his tense shoulders and thoughtful expression. He was considering something. I did not know what, but it was something that managed to bring about a very confused look on the normally stoic face. Meaning it was something complicated, and most certainly he was going to make me listen to it in a moment.

"Kyo…" Here it came. I steeled myself as I waited for him to formulate his thoughts into words.

"We hated each other, right? And, I didn't get along with Ayame-niisan either? But I did get along with Honda-san… right?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"It's all backwards."

"Explanation please? I'm no freaking mind reader."

"Good that, or Shigure would have been your death by now." A slightly timid tone but a very much amused smile creased his lips.

"I wouldn't read that man's thoughts even if I could." I grumbled, not quite holding back the shudder nor the soft growl escaping at the snicker Yuki let out. I caught myself actually relaxing a bit and instantly tensed again.

"What did you mean about it all being backwards?" Yuki blinked and stilled, his expression turning blank. Great way to change the subject, right?

"Backwards… Well, I know Ayame and I had our differences and so, but when I think about him I think that he's a pretty nice person. And though I can't say you've been all that nice" I narrowed my eyes but he continued "I think you've got your reasons. Then there's Honda-san… She's nice, but I can't really say I consider her a friend."He wore a complicated but fond expression on his face and I felt a bit angry. No way I'm going to let him fall for her. She's way too good for him

"What, do you love her?" I almost growled it, a dark look on my face, but it was obliterated at the baffled and slightly affronted look on Yuki's face.

"I didn't mean it like that! Stop putting words in my mouth."

"I'm not putting anything in your mouth, you rat." It slunk out of reflex, but I regretted it all the same. The moment I realized what I'd said I hung my head and groaned. _This isn't happening!_

"Yeah, you're right about that. Very disturbing picture. But what I meant was that those I supposedly hated are closer to me than the one I was friends with."

"…" I didn't know what to answer to that. So I kept my head down, still embarrassed about my little mishap with wording my thoughts.

"I'm sorry" My head snapped up.

"Excuse me?"

"That's my line. But, you know… no, you don't. _I_ don't know."

"You're not making any sense!"

"I'm aware of that. It's just messed up."

"What is?"

"Everything! From cats and mice to turning into animals when hugged and stuff; what isn't messed up?"Yuki sounded exasperated and when the back of his head hit the wall with a thump I realized just how freaking _strong_ he was to stand here and talk.

Just now he showed his frustration clearly and once more admitted that he wasn't all cool and collected. This was the second time, at least the second time it was plainly obvious. The first time being when he admitted he had lost his memories. Yuki was rubbing the back of his head with a slightly pained look on his face, but I stared at him with new found admiration.

And _oh_ how aggravating that was! I didn't want to admire him. I wanted that as much as I wanted to talk about personal stuff with Ayame. But now I did, so the least I could do was give him some credit.

"I guess that's true." I muttered in answer to his previous statement and Yuki's expression seemed to lighten and some tension seemed to run out of him.

"At least we agree on one point then." He joked and I snorted.

"That was lame" I told him and he smiled.

"That about me not being the _"Yuki you knew"_ was lame." He countered lightly with a chuckle and when I snapped back it wasn't with as much animosity as it would have contained had he said it earlier.

"Oh shut up" He gave me a small smile saying he completely saw through me although I growled.

Silence stretched between us after that, but it was of a more comfortable kind than before. I felt more relaxed than I would like to admit. I felt like I'd somehow gotten through all the barriers between us. Like I'd actually caught a glimpse of Yuki as he was behind the mask he always wore in front of everyone else.

The silence continued until Yuki pushed away from the door and undid the lock. With his hand on the handle he turned and gave me a look I couldn't quite describe. It was mischievous or something along those lines. Secretive.

"And we keep the contents of this talk our little secret, right? I'd like to keep this amnesia thing quiet for a little bit longer." His expression was confident but I actually for once felt certain I could read him. He was _hoping_ I'd keep quiet.

"Whatever." Was my answer, but I wouldn't tell on him. He'd been man enough to bring it up with me; I wasn't going to be the mouse playing tattler.

* * *

A/N: Don't forget to check the motivation poll out and vote on this fic! Then I'll know to focus on this story!


	10. Compromises

**A/N**: I feel like I owe several people an apology. I know I promised an update at the beginning of this year, or even before that, but things got crazy and I got distracted by games (mostly Dragon Age) and school, including the hell of a formal essay comparing the renaissance and medieval times in english (still not my mother tongue!) and a chapter for a collective novel about a strip club. Yeah, that's right. Strip club. Now you know.

**To make it short:** I'm sorry. The end. And keep the reviews coming as it was only thanks to a review by redwolfqueen0915 that I even remembered I was working on this fic! (Thanks once again!)

-Chapter 10: Compromises-

-: YUKI'S POV :-

When I'd closed the door to Kyo's room I briefly let myself collapse back against it, head falling back and eyes closing as a deep sigh escaped my lips. That had been so very awkward and my pulse had been racing quietly as I forced myself to open up to him.

It had been hard. Like, _really_ hard. I had expected him to either snap or laugh at me throughout the entire exchange, but it seemed like I'd managed it without any disasters. I couldn't really know until later though. Opening my eyes again I stared at the opposite wall for a moment before I pushed away from the door and turned down the hallway, heading for my room.

Softly closing the door behind me I crossed the floor and sat down on the sole chair, staring absently at my desk for a while as I quietly tried to sort my thoughts. It took a moment, but eventually my thoughts calmed down, my pulse following suit. Sighing and relaxing my posture a little in the chair, I wrapped my arms around my midsection, head falling back to stare at the ceiling.

Now what?

The argument with Kyo was over, or, at least _this one_ was over. I had no way of knowing if things were okay between us, seeing as I was the one with only a few memories of him and, well, _us_. He knew how I was before whatever happened, and he hated me for it. He'd tried to explain some to me, but I honestly didn't understand it.

The rat and cat had always hated each other. He'd been affronted when I said it was cartoonish, and then he'd been pretty quiet. I didn't know how to feel about that. But at the end he seemed less on guard, less intimidating. That just had to be a good sign, right?

Sighing once more I straightened in the chair and decided to go down and speak to Shigure, reporting things went fine and showing that I was alive and in one piece.

-:SHIGURE'S POV:-

The day had gone by in a rush, it seemed. First there had been the morning chaos, followed by a moment of ease before the boys got into a fight. Then I was stuck with Hatori while they straightened things out on their own. Luckily, it all went well in the end and Yuki came down with a slightly relived if confused look and told us things were fine for now.

No hard feelings after the fight.

I had been shocked. Not mere surprised, but shocked, as in completely baffled. I did not quite believe it could have been that easy. That just letting them handle things on their own like this would suddenly make them reach an understanding. If it really had been that easy, we wouldn't have these troubles to begin with. We could have just leaned back in our chairs and let them straighten their relationship out before it got out of control in the first place.

I was, in other words, insanely curious about what had transpired between the two, especially when I caught them giving each other evaluating glanced over the kitchen table at dinner, to which Kyo had decided to attend after he came to the realization I wasn't going to chew him out anytime soon.

In short, dinner was a very silent business this day, and after it was done it was time for Hatori and Ayame to take their leave.

Ayame had received an urgent call from Mine earlier but he had forgotten about it in the chaos that followed the "cat-fight" above. Once he came around to remembering, he'd thrown himself at Yuki, saying he was sorry he had to leave but it was very important business that pulled them apart, not some whim of his.

Yuki had assured him it was fine and had returned the hug a bit thoughtfully before he extracted himself and told the older to go packing. Soon enough the two were ready to go. I followed the pair out to see them off at the car when Hatori paused suddenly, turning to me. Ayame was already inside the car and with the doors and windows closed he wouldn't be able to hear our voices. I raised an inquiring brow at him, which earned a nondescript look in return.

"Yuki needs to return to school soon. The ideal would be Monday, but I assume it is too much to ask." It was too much to ask, and I shook my head at him before I told him just that.

"I have no idea how he's going to make it. As far as we know he's like the school prince, meaning he'll get lots of attention when he returns…" I left the thought hanging, the rest unsaid between us. Hatori stayed silent for a while longer, thinking, before he said what had obviously been on his mind.

"What you say is true. Which is why I'm telling you this now: Make peace with Kyo and try and have him keep track of Yuki."

"What?"

"I thought I saw some tension between you and Kyo even before the business of his fight. I believe you would not have reacted as badly if things were otherwise. Am I mistaken?" Hatori asked and I shook my head, still baffled by the abruptness of the question.

"No, you're sharp as always Ha-san." The surprise had left me a bit lost and I found my answer far meeker than likable, but it mattered little. Taking a short breath I crossed my arms and shifted so I had more weight on one foot than the other, striking a slightly thoughtful pose."But why do you want me to send Kyo after Yuki? That's a disaster waiting to happen."

"Yuki is bound to have troubles adapting and as Kyo and Honda are the only ones who know about his condition it falls to them to see to him. Kyo is better for it-" Hatori started but I interrupted.

"As Tohru is a girl, and though we love her, she's a tad clumsy." I finished and Hatori nodded. I sighed and uncrossed my arms, bringing one hand to my hip and the other to smooth back my hair in an exasperated I grimaced over the idea, while outwardly I only nodded in acceptance.

"There's not much of a choice, is there? I doubt Kyo will be happy though…" I let the sentence hang before another thought hit me. "Never mind Kyo, Yuki will be far worse." The groan I let out at the statement didn't faze Hatori. He gave me an even, almost chilly stare that practically demanded my attention. Meeting his gaze squarely, he spoke.

"Take care of it. If it doesn't work out we'll simply have Yuki transferred to an all-boys school." His voice was flat, leaving no room for argument. Pushing away the urge to frown I nodded, and then smiled, waving dismissively at him when he seemed to catch on to my hesitation.

"You'd better hurry up inside the car before Ayame decides he wants to drive." Hatori frowned a bit then, but apparently decided to let it slip and turned around, entering the drivers seat. The car started with a rumble and then it slowly rolled away, disappearing down the road into the distance.

Watching after them until they were out of sight I gathered my wits around me. It wouldn't do to flip out like I had done earlier. The cool night breeze helped sooth my frazzled nerves and I took a deep breath of the wet air, tasting the rain on it before releasing the air again in a heavy sigh.

I was left alone to care for the messy affair again, but I had some guidelines to follow. Make up with Kyo, make him approach Yuki and make sure Yuki can return to school. Oh, and ensure no one_ inconvenient _learns about Yuki's memory loss. I could handle that; no problem!

I snorted at my own forced optimism and then went inside. I could hear the sounds of the TV from the living room and after slipping out of my shoes I silently stalked over. From the doorway to the room I could see all three of them sitting together. Their faces were lit from the flashing lights of the TV and smiles of varying degrees played across their faces as something happened on the screen.

I left without disturbing them, venturing into the kitchen for a glass of water before silently retreating to the second floor and the privacy of my room.

* * *

The next morning was busy as we helped putting the house back in order. It was time to return home. As the kids ran around, actually working together, I watched them. Tohru did most of the work but Kyo and Yuki helped her whenever possible. They seemed to mostly ignore each other whenever possible as well. I think I only heard one exchange of words between them. and it was about where to put the used linens.

On the ride back, Yuki took the front seat beside me and Kyo sat behind him and beside Tohru like on the ride here. It was a mostly silent ride apart from the music that blared from the radio, and within reasonable time we were back home again, once more reinstalling ourselves in our separate rooms.

It was good to be home, I realized. The moment the door to my room closed I felt more at ease, felt more confident than I had in a while. Perhaps things would move along smoothly after all.

This mindset lasted through the unpacking of my things and even well into my internal debate on how to breach things to Yuki and Kyo. The dilemma with Yuki I found a solution for quite quickly; tell him he was going to go back to school, and say nothing at all about Kyo watching out for him. Problem avoided.

It would certainly come to bite me in the arse later, but it was a problem to handle when it came. I might have a good explanation at hand then. Not very likely, but possible. Otherwise I'd just have to improvise, something I was actually quite confident I could manage without too bad an outcome… most of the time.

Then there was Kyo. First of all there was the fact I had not admonished him for his behavior after the initial lashing out when Hatori and I had burst up the stairs. After speaking to Hatori I had decided to keep that talk down, put it under wraps for now. I could always use it as fuel later.

Which I might be able to do quite soon now that I thought about it, as I'd have to talk to the teen about helping Yuki adjust back into school life, which was the reason I was even considering these things to begin with.

Speaking in circles and beating around the bush wasn't the way to handle Kyo, so it was better to be quite direct, all the while putting up arguments he couldn't argue with. Pulling out the fight with Yuki could prove to be an advantage. Or it could blow up in my face.

But however it went, I should try and push some of his buttons, meaning sense of guilt and obligation. Which included telling him no one else would be able to truly watch over Yuki, and Kyo being able to pull him out of bad situations, in the physical sense if need be. It also included the fact that Kyo owed Yuki this after being such a brat to him so far.

Satisfied with my conclusions, as well as some other, more inconsequential ones, I stretched. I realized now that thinking had taken up quite some time, and when I ventured out of my rooms I found that Tohru was doing the finishing touches on the lunch and that Kyo and Yuki respectively had retreated to their rooms upstairs.

After getting an approximate time for the food to be done, I decided to get a quick rinse before it, and disappeared back to my room and then up to the bathroom.

-:KYO'S POV:-

The lunch had been quite good, though it had been hard to focus on it while throwing evaluating glances at Yuki. The rat returned those glances most of the time, the question in his dark eyes quickly turning into exasperation and even slightly taunting by the end of the meal.

I wanted to retire to my room after the meal, but Shigure apparently had something he felt the need to force upon me through speech, and unfortunately there was no escaping that. So I followed the dog to his work room, irritated by the messy state of it as I had to check the floor for papers so I wouldn't step on them.

"What do you want?" I asked gruffly, wary of what he wanted as the last time we'd even spoken properly was when he sent me to my room after I beat down Yuki. I once more felt a rush as I recalled it. Damn it, I'd won!

The rush was short-lived though. "I have a request… or rather a deal to propose." Shigure said, having seated himself somewhere between papers, looking completely at ease with the mess, and the situation included, if that slightly smug look on his face was anything to go by.

"Oh?" I said, as diplomatic as I could in the given circumstances. Damn, he wanted something and I most certainly wasn't going to like this one bit.

"I hate do drag things out, so I'm actually just going to come out and say it. Yuki is going back to school soon, and I, and Hatori of course, want you to… keep an eye out for him. Just to keep him out of trouble, and girls, since that equals troubles." Shigure said and I nearly balked at how he'd not changed 'keeping Yuki _out of_ 'to 'keeping him _away from'_ before he switched over to girls. Very awkward moment.

Once I was done procrastinating by getting stuck on that misfire framing of a sentence, I actually tried to think of what he wanted done. Keep an eye out for him to ensure he doesn't get into trouble as he's freaking amnesic. Great.

"Why should I do that?" A very predictable rebuttal, and so it didn't surprise me when the dog had an answer ready.

"Because I say so." Cheeky bastard. "And because you, in all honesty, needs to stop being an ass around him and help out like the rest of us. This problem concerns us all and you are the only one Yuki can rely on in school, really."

"Weren't you the one who said I should keep away from your business? Or has that changed all of a sudden?" I answered and Shigure sported a surprised look before he shrugged.

"The circumstances are a bit different and I was angry when I said that. And it's not like I'm giving you free reins; I'm asking you to look out for him, nothing more or less."

"Hmpff, really makes me want to help. What if I say 'fuck this shit'?" I crossed my arms over my chest and scowled in challenge at him, a challenge the dog met easily with well versed arguments.

"Then Yuki will be transferred to an all boy's school, easy as that." He shrugged and then pinned me with a look. "Though I'll make sure it's known who's fault that is." Okay, seriously, this man, was freaking offensive. And a manipulating asshole of a bastard.

Because, well, shit. As much as I wanted to say no, I really didn't want to send Yuki off to a different school. I mean, didn't normality mean higher chance of remembrance?

Though the question was if I wanted him to turn back to how he was. A flicker of that arrogant gaze, nose held high as he smirked down at me made the answer for me. No way I wanted that back!

...Or did I?

Yuki as he was now wasn't cool. He was really unpredictable and wasn't someone I could compete with anymore. But he wasn't holding things over me either which was actually sort of relieving, even though I still wished for some sort of competition.

It was complicated and confusing and I didn't know what to feel, save frustrated. I felt tense all over just from thinking about the difference between how Yuki'd been before and how he was now. It had my thoughts racing and my jaw aching as I ground my teeth, eyes on the irritatingly messy floor. The damned dog should clean up every once in a blue moon!

I mentally shook my head, forcing irrelevant as well as some relevant questions out of my mind. There was only one thing I wanted to know right now.

"What's the deal?" I said, wanting to get this over with so I could be alone. Shigure watched me carefully through dark grey eyes, fingers lacing together before him and his expression a mix of seriousness and curiosity. I saw him take a measured breath before he laid out the deal.

"You watch over Yuki in school, and I won't get on your back about your fight with Yuki."

"That's more blackmail than a deal!" I protested, accusation heavy in my voice and I was certain it had carried through the house. Shigure held up his hands in a motion as though to beg me keep quiet and I glared at him, seething.

"Blackmail or not, that's the offer. It's not even something so hard to do." He tried to downplay it and I grit my teeth, before spitting out an answer.

"Not much? I'll have to stick close to the rat and handle all of his stupid connections!" I could see his near rabid fan club before my inner vision and it fueled my distaste for the deal. Nope, I did not want anything to do with it!

"So you'd rather stick around to explain while he'd suddenly transferred school?" Shigure asked calmly, and I cursed the bastard under my breath. That was totally unfair!

"No" I grit out and Shigure deliberately slowly raised a brow, dark eye twinkling underneath it with smug satisfaction. He knew he'd win this, and damn, I knew it to. Growling in aggravation, I clenched my hands into fists.

"So you'll keep a look out for Yuki?" He asked and I glowered at him.

"Fine." I said and then turned around and walked out of there, slamming the door after me and ignoring his weak protest that followed me as I went up the stairs. I turned to look down the hall to Yuki's room and found the rat standing by his door. He looked back at me, head tilting slightly and his gaze questioning.

I shook my head and disappeared into my own room, wanting to calm down before I did anything else. I didn't want to think of anything, especially not that I'd just agreed to cling to Yuki like some surrogate mother. I grimaced in distaste at the image my brain produced and stomped over to the bed, flopping down and burying my head in the pillow, keeping it firmly there even though it was stuffy and hard to breathe.

When it became too uncomfortable and the discomfort overruled my temper, I let go of the pillow and rolled over onto my side, breathing easier even though my eyes were scrunched closed and my thoughts were racing.

I realized something after but a few moments, and that was that I couldn't do what Shigure asked of me. I couldn't. It was… wrong on so many levels, though it was obviously right on some points.

The parts that were right were the ones that Yuki might need someone there to look out for him and that I, admittedly, was the only real option. The part that was obviously wrong was that Yuki had no say in this, because surely he would protests against something like this!

I froze suddenly, the thought that hit me slowly sinking in.

…Did Yuki even know? Or had Shigure just decided this on a whim? Well, since Hatori had been involved it most likely wasn't really a whim, and as he'd put down freaking unshakable arguments, he'd obviously thought about it for some time.

But still, if anyone should have a say in this, it should be Yuki.

"Fuck, I have to talk to him, don't I?" I swore; cursed under my breath. Of course it would fall to me to talk to him and tell him about this shit. I didn't want to, it would be awkward and… awkward.

I pictured Yuki standing by the door, back against the door, head staring up at the ceiling with a look of frustration. Yuki had talked. Freely, without someone at his back to hound him. Not that I really had someone like that, but I felt obligated to tell him. Had Yuki felt obligated to tell me about his amnesia?

Not likely. He'd just done it, for whatever reason he had. Knowing that Yuki had done it didn't make it any easier for me to but my feet under me and walk over to his door and knock. It didn't make it feel better. In all honesty it was horrible; I fidgeted, tugging at the scruff of orange hair falling over my eyes, gnawing at my lip before I finally simply went, opened my door and walked down that corridor and rapped my knuckles against his door.

The moment he opened, a slightly surprised look over his fine features, I looked him straight in the eye. "We've got to talk. Again."

* * *

**A/N:** Next chapter brings more drama and bonding chit-chat! I hope you enjoyed this and leave a review to tell me you did so! Or to tell me I'm a jerk for leaving you hanging for a few months. Anything to hear how many (or few) are still hanging on!


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